An Old Evil Returns
by ApprenticeMana
Summary: With Mana's help, Atem is sent back to see his friends again. When things start to go well, Dartz returns with the Orichalcos while Mana starts to stray away from the group, feeling unwanted. Atem/Mana/Tea Yugi/Tea IN CHARACTER!
1. Chapter 1

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

A pharaoh with tri colored hair stands outside on his balcony, looking over his kingdom. His hair consists of blonde bangs in the shape of thunderbolts, mainly black and outlined with red. It has been a whole year since he has gone to the afterlife. It is no different from what Egypt is like before. He is still king and ruler over all the people. You would think that he would be happy, but he is not. He thinks back on the day he left his friends to be laid to rest again.

_Flashback:_

_A smaller version of him named Yugi, drops on his knees as Atem's lifepoints go down to zero. They were having a duel. If Atem won, he would stay locked inside the Millennium Puzzle for another five thousand years. But if Yugi won, Atem would finally be laid to rest._

_Tears drop from Yugi's cheeks to the cold ground as Atem approaches him with a sad smile. He crouches down and places a hand on his friend's shoulder._

_"Dry your tears Yugi for you have won," Atem says softly. There are others witnessing this as well, who are close friends of both Yugi and Atem's. _

_"I don't want you to go…" Yugi sobs. _

_"You should be proud of yourself. Yugi I've been with you for years and I've seen much growth in you. Believe it or not, you taught me the meaning of friendship and how to show compassion for others. Thank you for all of your help."_

_Yugi looks up as Atem stands and walks over to the door that will take him to the afterlife. The doors slowly open, revealing the bright light that is on the other side._

_"Don't go!" yells a feminine voice and Atem stops, his eyes widening. "I know this is what you're supposed to do," she says. "But I feel like we were all just getting to know you and…" She stops in her sentence as tears form in her eyes. Atem knows who it is. A teenage girl with brown shoulder length hair and blue eyes. Her name is Tea._

_"I think what she is trying to say is that we just don't want you to go," says a boy named Joey who has messy blonde hair and brown eyes. "But we'll never forget about you."_

_"And we'll miss you," Yugi says and Atem turns his head to all of his friends. He nods with a smile before giving a slight wave and turning to leave again. They all watch as he walks through those doors and they slowly shut behind him._

_End Flashback_

The truth is that he didn't want to go either. He had grown so attached to them that it was hard for him to say good-bye.

"Yugi, Tea, Joey…" he says to himself, looking up at the sky. From behind him, hiding behind a wall, a girl with spiky brown hair, wearing a short white pleated skirt with a gold belt, a strapless white blouse and white cap on her head, watches him.

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Mana lies in the grass under a tree with her hands behind her head. One leg is bent while the other is straight. 'Yugi, Tea and Joey,' she thinks to herself. She has seen them before when they came to her time to help the pharaoh. They had met at the Nile when she was practicing her spells. 'Prince misses them…Maybe there's a way that I can help.'

A leaf falls onto her nose and she quickly sits up, making it fall off her face. Then she jumps up to her feet and runs inside the palace, thinking of a great idea to help her dear friend. She runs through the halls, dodging guards and servants, but she runs straight into Priest Seto and falls on her rump. He looks down at her with cold blue eyes.

Without a word, she gets up and creeps past him before rushing off again to the pharaoh's room, knocking on the door. She waits impatiently outside, jogging in place until he finally opens the door and she whooshes past him. "Mana? Is there something wrong?" he asks, closing the door.

"I've found a way to cure all of your problems!" Mana exclaims and her wand materializes in her hand.

"Hold on. What do you mean by all that?"

"You miss your friends don't you? You know, Yugi, Joey and Tea."

"How do you know about that?"

"Don't you?" she asks again.  
"Well of course I do Mana. But I know that there's no way of seeing them again." Mana lifts up her wand for him to see and his eyes widen. "What are you planning on doing with that?" She steps up to him, inches away from his face.

"You want to see them again right? Let me help you."

"But how?"

"All you have to do is hold on to this," she says, holding up her wand. He looks at her then at the wand. By holding the wand, will that get him to see his friends again? There is only one way to find out. He slowly reaches out toward the object, his hand inches away from it. "Trust me Prince." And with saying those words, he finally grasps onto the wand. There is a blinding light from the wand and a rush of wind until they both are zapped inside a blue portal.

Atem shuts his eyes and Mana grits her teeth as they fall downward. Their clothes magically begin to change. Atem wears a navy blue school uniform while Mana wears a blue jean pleated skirt and a blue jean jacket with a black shirt underneath. The portal shoots them down into a new area and Atem crashes down in a park on the grass. For awhile, he lies there with his face in the ground until he finally raises his head and gasps.

It is totally different from Egypt. There are tall buildings and cars zooming down the streets. He looks at sign that says, "Welcome to Domino," and he smiles. He made it.

"Mana, you did it," he says before looking around, realizing that she is not there with him. He stands up and looks left and right, but there is no sign of her anywhere. "Mana."

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Mana walks on the sidewalk, totally clueless to where she is and where she is going. She looks at the tall buildings that tower over her and the cars that drive in the street. She looks at the cars more closely, wondering what they are and she takes a step out into the street, wanting to get closer to them. A car comes right toward her, blowing its horn and she gasps.

"Look out!" yells a teenage boy and he pulls her by her hand, out of the way. Mana looks at the boy that resembles her prince greatly.

"Prince?"

"What?"

"What happened to you Prince? Have you gotten shorter?" she asks and he tilts a head to the side before his eyes widen. He has seen her before back in Egypt.

"You're Atem's friend, Mana!"

"You're…Yugi," she recalls before raising an eyebrow. "Who's Atem?" she asks, never hearing that name before.

"If you're here, then that must mean that Atem is here too."

"Atem?" she asks again and he holds her hands in a pleading manner.

"Please, you must tell me where the pharaoh is!"

"Uh…we got separated. So I don't know where he is either."

"Then we'll search for him together," says Yugi, taking her hand.

'Atem…' she thinks again to herself, wondering why Yugi called him that.

"Where is she?" Atem asks himself, wandering the streets of Domino in search of Mana. "I hope she didn't get lost."

"There you are!" yells a feminine voice from behind and he stops. "I've been looking all over for you Yugi!" Atem slowly turns around and he gasps, seeing Tea there. Tea has the same expression and she drops the bags that she is holding in her hands, rushing over to him and giving him a hug. "Atem! You're back!"

"Tea." She slowly pulls back with tears in her eyes and she quickly wipes them away. "It's nice to see you too Tea."

"What are you doing here? I thought you were sent to…"

"I was brought back here by a friend who I'm looking for at the moment," he explains, looking in another direction.

"Then I'll help you look for that friend."

Atem smiles at her. "Thank you Tea."

"No problem."

_End of the first chapter. Review and tell me what you think!_


	2. Reunion and Exploring

Yugioh belongs Kazuki Takahashi.

Yugi and Mana walk side by side down the sidewalk which is busy with people walking around like it always is. The streets are also busy as well. Both are talking to each other about many things. Well, it is mostly Yugi asking all the questions and Mana trying her best to answer them.

"So wait. How did you get here anyway?" Yugi asks and Mana smiles. Finally, an easy question for her to answer. She makes her wand appear in her hand and Yugi looks at it with amazement.

"I did a spell that sent us here," she explains briefly.

"Oh yeah. I forgot you were a magician. Have you gotten any better?"

"Well, sort of. But I still need a lot more practice."

"I think you're great Mana," says Yugi, making her smile. "Remember that time you sent that wave crashing into those bad guys back in Egypt?" Mana nods shyly, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "Besides, you're a lot better than those so called magicians we've got here."

"Thanks."

"I should be thanking you."

"Huh? But why?"

"Because of you, I'll be able to see my old pal again."

"He really missed you guys," says Mana and she begins to walk with her hands behind her back. "I hated to see him so sad so that's why I brought him here."

"I missed him too. We all did back here." Yugi stops in his tracks and slaps his forehead, seeing where they are. "We took a wrong turn into the alley. I doubt he will be here."

"Give me your money," says a person from behind and they both slowly turn around to see a man with a mask over his head and a knife in his hand. Yugi stands protectively in front of Mana with narrowed eyes.

"We've done nothing to you," says Yugi. "So leave us alone!"

"I see you're not gonna make this easy kid. Alright then, you're going first." He slowly starts to walk toward them, taking his time which each step until he is finally inches away from them. He lifts up his hand containing the knife and prepares to swipe down. Yugi closes his eyes, preparing for the worst, but when nothing happens, he slowly opens them to find the man frozen in his tracks.

Yugi looks back at Mana who has her index finger on her side temple. "I keep forgetting what you're capable of," Yugi says and Mana smiles, dropping her hand to her side. But as soon as she does that, the man is able to move again. Yugi and Mana hold onto each other as he tries once more to attack. That is until he is hit with the lid of a garbage can and he falls to the ground. Yugi and Mana look down at the man then up at the person who did that.

"Joey!" Yugi exclaims and the blonde headed boy smirks. "Boy am I glad to see you!"

"What's up Yug," he greets before grinning at him. "Who's this, your girlfriend? I thought you liked Tea."

"Don't you remember Joey? She's the one we met back in Egypt when we were helping the pharaoh with his memories."

"Doesn't ring a bell."

"She took out a dozen bad guys with just one swipe of her wand."

"Oh yeah! The dark magician girl!"

"Mana," Yugi corrects him.

"Right, right. The name's Joey. What are you two doing here anyway?"

"We're actually looking for the pharaoh," Yugi replies.

"The pharaoh? But isn't he back in the afterlife?"

"Mana brought him back here to see us."

"Is that so? Then what are we waiting here for? Let's go find him."

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"So Mana is the one that brought you here right?" asks Tea as she walks with Atem in search for her and Yugi as well.

"Yes."

"Oh…" Tea bows her head slightly. Atem notices a slight look of depression on her face and asks her what's wrong. "Do you think…well…do you think that she'll be able to get accustomed here? I mean it's a lot different than Egypt."

"In time, I think she'll learn to get used to it," he replies and she lifts her head. "Is that what's been really bothering you Tea?"

"Hm?"

"Ever since I've mentioned Mana you've--"

"Oh, nothing's wrong!" she quickly says. "I'm happy as it is with you being here. I missed you Atem."

"…I've missed you too Tea." Tea smiles on hearing that from him. She is happy, knowing that Atem hasn't forgotten about her. She is snapped out of her thoughts when they hear a horn of a car. They both look out into the street where they see Mana about to be hit by one. Across the street is Joey and Yugi calling her back.

"Mana!" Atem, Yugi and Joey exclaim. As the car is about to hit her, she jumps up, running on top of the hood of the car, all the way down to the trunk, until she falls off. From both sides they rush over to her as she sits up and looks back at the car as it drives off.

"What a weird moving object," she remarks.

"Mana, are you okay?" asks Yugi.

Mana watches as the car drives off with disappointment. "I wanted to see what those things felt like. But it came so fast and I got scared so I…"

"Are you crazy! You could've been killed!" Joey exclaims.

"What is that anyway?"

"It's called a car," Atem says, helping her stand. "People use them for transportation. Just like we use horses back in Egypt." He leads her back to the sidewalk as she continues to look at the passing cars.

"A car…"

"Atem…" Yugi says looking at him with a smile and Atem looks back at him and Joey with a smile on his face as well. "I can't believe it. You're actually here."

"Hey man," says Joey. "Long time, no see."

"It's great to see you again. All of you," Atem says, standing across from them. Mana walks away to see more of the moving objects. She watches how a larger vehicle goes past her, carrying a load on the back.

"That's a very large car…" she says, not knowing that it's actually a truck. One truck parks nearby her and she walks over as the others reunite again. An old man gets out of the truck and wipes the sweat off his forehead. He looks over to see Mana staring with fascination at the truck.

"Why hello there young lady. How can I help you?" he asks.

"You've got a very large car," she says and he laughs.

"That's not a car. It's a truck."

"A truck?"

"Yeah, you know. It transports things back and forth."

"How do you work it?"

The old man scratches his head. "How old are you, five?"

"Sixteen."

"Haven't you seen a truck before?" Mana shakes her head. "…How about I show you what it's like on the inside?" He holds onto the rail attached to the truck and he opens the door. Then he reaches his hand to her, helping her aboard and she sits in the driver's seat.

"Wow, it's so high up!"

"And if you pull that string there, you'll blow the horn," he says, pointing to the string next to her. She holds the string and pulls down it, causing the loud horn to blow and she jumps slightly from the noise.

"It talks!" She grips the steering wheel and starts to turn it, pulling the horn as well. "What does this do?"  
"It steers the truck in any direction you want."

"Really?"

The man chuckles. "Such a strange girl you are."

Joey looks around to see that Mana isn't there with them anymore. "Hey, where's Mana?" he asks, causing Atem, Tea and Yugi to stop talking and look in different directions as well.

"She was here just a second ago," Tea says. They hear her voice coming from the truck nearby and they run over to it.

"Mana!" Atem calls out but she doesn't answer.

"It has a bed too? Wow! There's so much stuff you can fit in here," Mana says excitedly, walking deeper into the truck.

"Mana!" She stops, hearing her name being called. The man goes to the passenger door of the truck to see a couple of teens standing there.

"Hey! Have you seen a girl with brown hair anywhere?" Joey asks the man. The man is about to answer when Mana appears next to him. Atem and the rest sigh in relief.

"She was curious about the truck," the old man tells them. "I just showed her around."

"I…think it's time we get going," says Yugi.

"Let's go Mana," Atem says. She jumps down and he catches her with his arms around her waist and her hands on his shoulders. "You alright?" Tea looks away at the sight of Mana being in Atem's arms. She wishes that she is in Mana's place, wanting to feel his arms around her.

"Yeah! That was fun!" She looks back at the man with a smile. "Thanks mister!"

"No problem," he says and he waves as go on their way.

"You shouldn't run off like that with strangers," Tea advises and Mana looks at her with a confused look.

"But he didn't seem bad to me. He was very nice."

"She's right Mana," Atem says, agreeing with Tea. "It is not wise and it could be very dangerous."

"Well…okay…"

"We really should be getting home you guys. The first day of school is tomorrow," Tea reminds them and Joey groans.

"I forgot all about that," he says, dropping his head.  
"Look on the bright side Joey. At least we're seniors," says Yugi trying to cheer him up.

"That reminds me. Where's Atem and Mana going to stay?" Tea asks.

"Well, I have one open bedroom at my place. I'm sure my grandpa won't mind," says Yugi."

"Hey! And maybe they can go to high school with us too! Our school accepts just about anybody!" Joey exclaims with excitement.

"Well, I guess I can lend Mana my uniform," says Tea.

'What's a high school?' Mana asks herself, as they continue to talk amongst themselves.

Another chappie done! Please leave reviews!


	3. School and Bullies

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

A man with long blue hair steps out of a portal. He wears a purple suit with white dress shoes as he walks into a cave filled with statues. He snaps his fingers, causing candles to light up on each side of him. One of his eyes is yellow and the other is an aqua color. He looks at his hand which is balled into a fist and opens it, revealing a blue stone and he grins.

"I am back," he says, walking up to an alter. "I was a fool to turn against the Orichalcos. But now I have returned to revive the Great Leviathan. I shall recruit old people that have worked for me as well as new ones to help feed him with many souls. And this time, I won't fail…" The stone in his hand floats into the air and shines a bright light.

"It begins…"

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Atem and Yugi stand downstairs wearing their navy blue uniforms for their first day of school. Atem straightens out his blazer before putting his hands into his pockets. "This brings back memories," Atem says, smiling.

"Sure does," Yugi chuckles. "Only this time you're actually gonna participate in school." Mana slowly comes down the stairs wearing her uniform which consists of a pink blazer with a white dress shirt and a blue tie. A blue skirt along with long knee high socks and brown dress shoes. She reaches the bottom and immediately starts to tug on the collar of her uniform. "Wow, you look great Mana," Yugi compliments.

"I don't like it. Do we have to wear this much stuff?"

"Well, you can always take you blazer off," suggest Yugi. Mana looks down at her blazer which contains three small buttons. Yugi's grandfather had put them together since she didn't know how. She starts tugging at the buttons, trying to get them loose but they wouldn't budge.

"GAH! I'm trapped!" Mana exclaims, starting to panic. Atem walks over and crouches down, starting to take them loose while the doorbell rings. Yugi goes to the door and opens it and smiles seeing Tea and Joey.

"Mornin' Yug."

"Good morning Joey. Hey Tea," greets Yugi.

"Are you ready to go?" asks Tea.

"As soon as Atem and Mana are ready," he replies looking back at them to see that Atem is struggling with Mana's buttons. "Atem…is there a problem?"

"These buttons…" he grunts."They really are stuck."

"No way. Let me try," says Joey walking over to Mana and Atem moves out of the way. Joey starts tugging at the button but it doesn't come loose. "There's only one thing to do." He rushes into the kitchen and comes out momentarily with a huge knife in his hand.

Mana gulps hard while the others look in horror. "J-Joey?"

"Hold still," he advises, raising the knife and a high pitched scream fills the air.

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Mana runs up to the doors of the school and looks all the way up with her mouth slightly open. "This really is a _high_ school," she says to herself. Yugi and the others soon join her and they all walk inside where there are students walking through the halls, carrying books and supplies.

Tea, Yugi, and Atem stand in front of their classroom. They all have the same class except Joey and Mana who have almost every class together even lunch. "We'll see you guys later," Tea says. "And try to set a good example for her Joey."

"Yeah, yeah." Mana follows Joey up the stairs and into a new classroom which isn't really filled with too many students. Mana looks at her new surroundings. There are about fifteen desk in rows and sections. There is a podium up front and a green board. "Well just don't stand there. Have a seat," Joey tells her and she walks over to her seat, sitting in the middle of the class while Joey sits behind her to keep a good eye on here.

Soon the bell rings and classes begin. The teacher with blonde curly hair walks in and stands at the podium. "Alright class, a new year has begun. Let's make this a good one shall we? Now I want everyone to introduce themselves." Mana watches and hears as everyone in the class starts to say their name. There are so many names that she couldn't even remember the first three. Then it comes to her and she stands up.

"My name is Mana."

"…Okay, Mana who?" asks the teacher. "What's your last name?"

"I don't know. I--" she is cut off by laughs of the students and she slowly sinks down in her seat with embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Atem seems to be adjusting quite well to the classroom. He also seems to be getting a couple of looks from the other girls in the classroom including Tea. She looks him up in down from his slender body, broad shoulders and perfect face. She begins to think that he was brought here for a reason--to give her a second chance at you know what.

She violently shakes her head. That can't be it. She looks over at him again. Or could it?

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Three periods later--

"Well your experiences in class weren't all the good," says Joey, walking beside Mana in the hall. "But maybe lunch will be a lot better."

Mana's eyes brighten up and she clenches her fists. "Did you say lunch!?"

"…yeah…I see you're familiar with that."

"Of course! I love food!"

"Well do you?" He looks up with a smirk on his face. 'She reminds me of myself.' They walk into the cafeteria. There are a lot of people in line and Joey groans. "Great. All the good food will be gone." He and Mana wait impatiently in the line as it moves slowly. Mana looks forward to about four people wearing their uniforms improperly. Two girls had their blazers wrapped around their waists and the guys had skulls on the back of theirs.

"Joey, can they do that?" she asks.

"Nah. You should stay away from them. They're nothing but trouble." They continue to stand in line until they finally get their food. Mana sees a nice pastry treat and there is only one left so she grabs it, only for it to be taken by the girl with her blazer around her waist with long black hair.

Mana narrows her eyes. "Hey! That was mine!" She snatches it back.

"You looking for trouble?" the girl asks as the rest of her group surrounds her, cracking their knuckles. Joey puts down his tray and stands beside Mana.

"Is there a problem here?" he asks.

"Stay out of this you dog," says one of the guys.

"That's it! It's go time!" The whole room stops to see what is about to happen and some start chanting, 'fight.' Mana and Joey stand back to back, prepared to defend themselves. "Can you fight?" Joey asks.

"I was trained in the art of combat and I've sparred with prince many times so yes," she replies. One of the girls aims a punch at Mana and she ducks, punching her in the stomach. The girl doubles over; holding her stomach and Mana lifts one leg, kicking her down to the floor. She looks up and is met by the other girl's fist and she falls to the floor.

"Mana!" Joey yells, about to go over to her but he is stopped by the two guys.

"You should be worrying about yourself," says one of them and Joey grins. They begin fighting as well and Mana lifts her head up as the two girls approach her. Her wand materializes in her hand and she narrows her eyes as it glows. The two girls are suddenly sent back with an amazing force and they crash into the wall.

"Awesome," Joey compliments before knocking the other two out. A whistle suddenly blows, causing everyone to look toward the entrance of the cafeteria where the principle stands.

"DETENTION!"

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Atem, Yugi and Tea walk down the hall heading toward the cafeteria. "You've been here just one day and you're already popular," Tea says to Atem and he smiles shyly.

"He's probably used to it Tea. I mean he is the king of Egypt right?"

"Yeah. I wonder how Mana and Joey are do--" Tea stops and they all stop in their tracks to see Mana and Joey sitting down in front of the principles office, both with pouts on their faces. "What happened?" asks Tea.

Joey looks up at Tea with a smirk. "Eh…we got detentions for fighting."

"WHAT!?" they all shout together with shocked looks on their faces.

"Mana's not a bad fighter. I was surprised."

"Joey, you were supposed to be setting an example for her!"

"I did. I taught her to defend herself."

Tea sighs, placing a hand on her forehead while Yugi shakes his head. "I'll stay with you guys after school. Mana probably doesn't know how to get home," he says.

"Are you sure?" Atem asks.

"Yeah. Besides, it'll get you and Tea some time. The reason why you came back in the first place was to see your friends right?"

"Yes. Thank you Yugi." Tea smiles. Maybe this time alone with Atem will make her and Atem's relationship stronger and cause them to get closer.

'There is definitely a reason why he came back.'

_Well what do you think? Please review._


	4. Chapter 4

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Atem walks inside the house after spending some time with Tea. They had gone to a carnival where they went on loads of rides and attractions. Not to mention the junk food and most of all, the fun they had.

Tea seems the happiest of all the he is back. Ever since he returned, she has been clinging to him. Yugi sees him at the door and approaches him with a sort of serious look on his face. "You're back," says Yugi. "How was it?"

"I enjoyed myself," Atem replies.

"Uh…I think there is something wrong with Mana."

Atem raises an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean? What's wrong with her?"

"She immediately ran up to her room and slammed the door without a word."

Mana sits in her room on her bed with her legs crossed and her head low. Her eyes show concentration and she slightly rocks back and forth, trying to process things through her head. She is thinking about what Tea said after school had ended.

_Flashback_

_Mana and Tea stand in the hall as other students start to leave for the day. Mana is about to go to detention when Tea says something to her, making her stop._

_"I'm going out with Atem so I'll see you later," Tea tells her and Mana tilts her head._

_"Why do you keep calling him that?"_

_"Calling him what?"_

_"Atem," replies Mana. _

_"Well, that's his real name. He never told you that?"_

_"Addressing him by his actual name is forbidden. So that's why I call him prince. But he never told me his name even after we've known each other for so long."_

_"Well his name was something he told his friends. Well I have to go now or I'll be late for my date--I mean my time out with Atem." Tea walks away as Mana bows her head._

_'Does he consider me a friend?'_

_End Flashback_

Atem knocks on Mana's door and waits patiently outside for her to open it. He hears light footsteps from the other side and they get a little louder as she comes closer to the door. The door is cracked open and all Atem can see is Mana's eye and the darkness in the background.

"Yes?"

"Yugi was worried about you. Are you alright?" Atem asks before raising an eyebrow at the darkness behind her. "Why is it so dark in there?"

"Eh…no reason. But I'm just fine," she replies.

"Are you sure?"  
"Yes, I'm fine," she assures him. He nods, taking her word and she closes the door. He turns around and folds his arms, going into thought as he walks down the stairs to Yugi.

"Is she okay?" asks Yugi.

"She says she's fine. But Mana has always been the person to hide how she really feels. So I really don't believe her. But I am going to leave it alone for now," responds Atem.

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Joey groans loudly in frustration, hanging up his cell phone as he walks with his friends to school. "What's wrong Joey?" asks Yugi.

"It's Mai," he replies, referring to his close 'girl' friend. "We were doing just fine for awhile, and now all of a sudden, she's gone mad on me."

"What do you mean?" Tea asks.

"I mean that she refuses to talk to me all of a sudden. It just makes no sense."

"I'm sure you two will work something out."

Later on that day, Mana walks into her classroom. Neither Joey, Yugi, Tea nor Atem are in this class. She sits down at her desk and immediately begins doodling on her notepad that is supposed to be used for her notes. But all it is filled with is her little drawings. Beginning to feel bored during her teacher's lecture, she looks out the window that she sits by, observing what's going on.

Below are people walking down the sidewalk, carrying on with what they have to do. Cars and trucks go ride down the streets as well as some people on bikes. She slowly lies her head down, keeping her view on the outside, hearing what seems to be drabbling from her teacher in the background.

Her face slowly changes to a serious look as she looks outside. Something just doesn't feel right all of a sudden. In the distance, she sees a cloud a smoke. 'What is going on?' she asks herself. Her question is soon answered by an explosion, causing everyone to scream and yell in a panic while the teacher tries to calm them down. But it is no use and they all start to run out the classroom and the teacher soon follows after, forgetting that Mana is still inside the class. She continues to stare out the window as if in a trance.

Atem, Tea, Yugi and Joey all rush out the classroom, trying to get outside as soon as they can. Joey runs past one classroom and stops short, seeing Mana still inside and the rest stop as well. "Come on Mana! We gotta get out of here!" yells Joey and she turns to leave with them but stops when the building starts to shake. The ceiling cracks and large parts of it start to fall.

"This building is falling apart!" exclaims Yugi.

"Mana!" Atem yells. She quickly dashes forward, avoiding the debris until she makes it to the others. Then they run down the stairs and out the nearest exit to find a sight familiar sight. There a duel monsters roaming the city. Some are on top of buildings and cars and others are harassing the people.

"Look you guys, real duel monsters!" Tea yells, pointing to them.

"Déjà vu," Joey says and Yugi nods in agreement.

A stampede of panicking people suddenly comes at them and soon enough, they reach them. They later find themselves separated from each other. "Oh no!" exclaims Tea. "Atem, Yugi, Joey!?"

"Great!" Joey yells in frustration, shoving people out of his way to find his friends. He pushes a man out the way and spots Yugi not too far from him. "Yugi! Over here!"

Yugi turns around and slowly makes his way to Joey, sighing in relief. "We need to find the others," says Yugi.

Mana turns around to see loads of people running toward her. None of those faces are familiar though. All of a sudden, her eyes go blank and she looks as if she is staring out into space. Different visions enter into her mind and she clenches her head. 'What is this?' She is pushed down to the ground and she lies there in a daze, not knowing that someone is about to trample her.

She feels herself being lifted up and carried by someone else but it is no one familiar. She takes one last look at the person with short blonde hair and muscular arms before passing out.

"Tea!" Atem yells, finally reaching her. The crowd starts to die down to the point where they can see the sidewalk and street again.

"Atem! Thank goodness you're here!"

"Where are the others?"

"I don't know. They're--"

"Hey you guys!" a familiar voice interrupts her and they turn their heads to see Yugi and Joey waving to them.

"Doesn't this all seem familiar to you?" asks Yugi.

"Yes, I know what you mean," replies Atem.

"You don't think that--"

"You guys, where's Mana?" Tea asks all of a sudden. Once again, Mana has gotten out of their sight. They look to the street where the last of the crowd has gone, leaving no one but them and the monsters that are busy terrorizing the city.

Yugi looks left and right until he finally spots her. "There she is!" he shouts, pointing to Mana who is on the ground, leaning on a building with her head bowed. Atem is the first to run over to her aid followed by the others. There are some scratches on her body, but it appears that she isn't severely injured.

"Mana, wake up," Atem says and they hear a light groan before she slowly lifts her head with a weak expression on her face. "Are you alright?"

"How'd you get all the way over here?" Joey asks and she answers with a grimace and she holds her head.

"Prince…I don't feel very well," she tells him.

"I think we should get her back home," suggests Yugi and Atem nods his head in agreement.

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"Help me with this," Atem tells Yugi as he walks upstairs, carrying Mana bridal style. Yugi quickly goes in front of Atem and opens the door to her bedroom. Then he pulls back the sheets for her to lie in. Atem gently places her down on the bed, taking off her shoes before placing the covers and blankets over her.

"I'll meet you downstairs with the others," says Yugi before leaving.

Mana slowly sits up in bed, not wanting to rest especially after what just happened. "You need to rest Mana," Atem tells her.

"But I'm fine now."

"Mana…" He closes his eyes and leans forward so that their foreheads are touching. Her temperature is equal with his. "You don't appear to have a temperature," he says pulling back. "Do you think our trip may have drained you somehow?"

"I don't know. I think I would've recovered by now. Although, something did happen to me today."

"Go on."

"I feel myself blanking out for a moment before coming back to the real world."

"I believe that's called daydreaming Mana. You do that all the time."

"No, this was different. It was like I was seeing visions. You know, like Priestess Isis."

"Maybe our trip here has somehow affected your abilities."

"Maybe…" she says thoughtfully.

"But for now you must get your rest."

"I have a question," she says before regretting saying that.

"What is it?" he asks, giving her his full attention. She turns her head a little, thinking to herself. She really wants to ask why he never told her his real name. Is it because he doesn't consider her a friend? She mentally shakes her head. No, that couldn't be it. Maybe he just simply forgot. "Mana?"

She quickly turns her head to him. "…It's nothing."

Atem frowns. "You really shouldn't do that," he says, standing to his feet.

"Do what?"

"Hide things, especially from me. You know I'm here to help with anything that's bothering you."

"Yes, I know," she replies as he walks out the door. She watches as he leaves and sighs.

"Finally," Joey says as Atem finally joins them and sits down on the couch next to Yugi and Tea.

"So any ideas on why these monsters have appeared all of a sudden?" Atem asks.

"I've got nothin," replies Joey.  
"Actually I've been thinking," says Yugi, placing his thumb and finger on his chin in thought. "What if…well…the Orichalcos has something to do with this?"

"No way…" Tea says.

"It's the same as last time."

"But I thought the Orichalcos was destroyed," says Atem.

"Yeah," Joey agrees. "There has to be some other explanation."

_Sorry for the long update. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. In the mean time, please review!_


	5. Something Strange

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

In a large screen, the man with long blue hair watches as the teenage girl with spiky brown hair walks behind her friends in the mall. He grins, placing a hand on the screen. "Soon those visions will show her the truth and then she'll be mine."

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Mana walks behind Atem, Yugi, Tea and Joey in the mall. They are talking about things that happened in the past between them. A lot of the conversations are like that and she doesn't participate in them because she doesn't know what the heck they're talking about. In a way she feels left out, but then again, this is Atem's time to spend time with his friends.

She stumbles a bit, carrying dozens of bags of clothes bought for her and Atem. They needed other clothes besides their uniforms. Mana suddenly stops in her tracks and lifts her head to sniff the air. Her favorite thing is calling to her. Food.

"And remember Battle City Finals?" Tea brings up.

"Yeah. I could've beat Marik hadn't it been for that Winged Dragon of Ra and the whole shadow realm thing," Joey says. "But hey, who else to beat an evil freak but Yugi?"

"Well I couldn't have done it without Atem's help," Yugi says and Atem smiles slightly.

Joey's stomach growls and he groans. "Hey, how about we stop at the food court and get something to eat? I'm starving here!"

"Oh chill out," says Tea. "But I am feeling a little hungry myself."

"Ah yeah! How does that sound Mana?" Joey asks, walking with his fists on his hips and nose up. But when he doesn't get a reply, he whips his head around to find the shopping bags on the floor and Mana nowhere in sight. "Uh…Mana?"

"Not again," Tea groans.

"You need money to get this food," says the man behind the register.

Mana blinks a couple of times. "Money?"

"Yes! M-O-N-E-Y! Money!"

"Where do I get that?"

"What are you five?" Mana ignores that question to look around for this thing called money. She searches high and low and then stops.

'Wait a minute, what does money look like?' she asks herself before dropping her head and she sighs heavily with frustration, wanting to eat now.

"Mana!" she hears Atem, Tea, Yugi and Joey call to her but she doesn't reply.

"Mana, you can't keep running off like that," says Yugi.

"Yeah, do you want to get lost?" asks Tea. They suddenly hear light sobbing coming from Mana and her shoulders begin to tremble. "…I-I'm sorry."

"Mana?" Atem says, starting to approach her. Her head lifts up and she quickly whips around with tears in her eyes and she leans on him with her hands on his shoulders for support. "M-Mana?"

"It's terrible!" she sobs.

"What? What is it?"

Mana points to the small fast food restaurant's menu. "You actually have to pay for this food! And the bad thing is that I don't have any money! It's like they want me to starve to death!"

Tea sighs heavily and places a hand on her forehead. 'She's such a kid…' "Chill out, we can get a bite to eat. My treat." Mana lets go of Atem and then hugs Tea.

"Really? You mean it!?"

"Uh…sure?" Mana lets her go and starts jumping up and down with excitement.

"Then let's go! Let's go!" Tea only sighs again before proceeding to the restaurant.

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_"Where am I?" Mana asks herself, walking blindly in the darkness. She outstretches her hands, trying to feel for things but she finds nothing. "Hello? Is anyone here?" She hears someone snap their fingers and candles from both sides of her suddenly light up. She finds herself in a cave filled with dragon statues and a couple of people standing in front of her._

_A man with long blue hair stands in front of her. "Welcome to my humble home."_

_Mana blinks and sweat drops, taking a step back. "What is this?"_

_"You have been chosen to work for me my dear."_

_"Say what?" She looks at the others standing beside the man. One woman has long blonde hair and violet eyes; the muscular man has short blonde hair and blue eyes. Then there are two more males, one having red hair and the other has brown spiky hair. "What's going on?" Mana asks. "Who are you and what do you want with me?"_

_"I need you to help me Mana."_

_"You…know my name…"_

_"You see, my beloved beast has been locked away and I miss it dearly. So I need you to help capture strong souls so that he may be revived again."_

_"What?" He snaps his fingers and a black duel disk appears on her wrist. She looks at it before back up at him again. She notices that the other people have one as well. The man with the short blonde hair looks familiar to her and she gasps. "You…" she says, pointing to him."You're the one that saved me from getting trampled."_

_"You see? You are surrounded by nothing but good and generous people who only want to help," says the blue haired man. "Join us Mana…"_

_Mana takes another step back, not knowing what to do. This is all just plain weird to her. 'It's just a dream Mana. It's just a dream. Just close your eyes and you'll wake up,' she tells herself. She shuts her eyes and opens them momentarily._

Mana sits up in bed, immediately looking at her surroundings to see that she is back in her room. She sighs in relief and places a hand on her forehead. "It was just a--" She stops and looks at her wrist with horror. The duel disk that the man had given her was on her wrist. "…It wasn't a dream."

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"Come on Mana or we'll be late for school!" Tea yells up the stairs the next day. She and the others are waiting for Mana to come so that they can leave. "Geez, I wonder what's taking her so long."

"What do you think? She doesn't want to go to school," Joey says with a confident look. "I don't blame her." Atem goes up the stairs, heading to her room. The door is closed so he politely knocks on the door. After waiting awhile, he doesn't get an answer so he opens the door and walks in. All the lights are off and the shades are closed, making the room dark.

He looks forward to see a lump in the bed and walks up to find Mana under the covers, her face covered as well. "Mana, it's time for school," he tells her and he hears her groan. "What's wrong?" He hears her muffled reply but since he cannot hear her, he pulls the covers off her face to see the tired look in her eyes.

"I can't go today. I had…a bad night…"

"What do you mean?"

"…It's nothing…"

"Mana, you know how much I dislike that."

"Just go ahead," she says before putting the covers back over her head. "I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," comes her muffled reply and with that he leaves, joining the others downstairs.

"Is she coming?" Yugi asks

Atem shakes his head. "She's not feeling well so she's staying here.

"Then let's go," Tea says.

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"So did you guys hear what happened on the news?" asks Tea as they make their way to school.

"No, what happened?" Joey asks.

"Don't you ever look at the news?" She sighs heavily before continuing. "Well, there have been people found lying unconscious on the streets lately."

"Hm…First real monsters and now people are found unconscious? This is serious," Yugi says.  
"You're right," Atem agrees. "I truly am beginning to think that this is the work of the Orichalcos all over again."

"And I thought Dartz had changed…"

"Either way, we'll stop this evil," Joey says with the determination. Atem, Yugi and Tea nod in agreement.

Later, Tea catches up with Atem during their lunch period. "Hey Atem! Wait up!" she calls after him and he stops, turning to her. "Wanna eat lunch together?"

"Sure," he replies and they find a place to sit, setting their trays on the table. Every now and then, Tea would look up at Atem as he is eating. There has been something that's been bothering her, but she doesn't know how to bring it out. Feeling that he is being watched, Atem looks up as Tea quickly turns her gaze to her food. "Is there something wrong?" he asks.

"Well…it's just…ever since Mana has come here, she hasn't been doing so well. She almost got hit by a car, almost got trampled by a crowd of people and she keeps getting lost."

"What are you saying?" Atem asks, raising an eyebrow, not knowing where she's going with this.

"I'm just beginning to think that Mana will never get used to it here."

"I see," Atem says thoughtfully. He has actually been feeling the same way. Maybe it will be best for Mana to go back to the afterlife.

"And there may be a possibility that the Orichalcos is coming back. What will she do then? Not to be rude or anything but…Mana acts like a little kid and…" She slowly begins to stop at what she's saying, seeing the look on Atem's face. It's the kind of face that says, 'Don't talk about my friend,' face. "I'm sorry I--" Atem raises his hand for her to stop.

"It's fine. I know much about Mana's carefree and outgoing personality," Atem says before continuing. "Did you know that Mana has saved me many times from Zorc and Bakura?"

"I-I didn't know that. Really?"

Atem nods. "You see Tea, Mana may act this way now only because she feels that there is no danger. But when the danger actually approaches, she is actually quite the helpful one and a fighter at that."

"Oh I get it," Tea says in realization. "She carefree in times when everything's good, but serious when something bad happens." Atem nods before suddenly whipping his head, looking out the window with a serious look. He feels a great evil approaching. "Atem? Are you okay?" Atem looks at her and nods.

"I'm fine."

Mana walks up to the window with her covers over her shoulders. "Weird…" she says as she looks up into the clouds to see a rainbow pattern in them.

_Man, I have been having computer problems and problems with this chapter. But I hoped you liked it and please review._


	6. Can't Sleep

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Atem walks down the stairs late at night to get something to drink before heading back to bed. Since his eyes are tired and legs feel a little wobbly, he holds onto the rail to keep from tumbling down the stairs. After getting his water, he starts back up the stairs until he hears a light moan coming from the living room.

Slowly he approaches the entrance of the room to find Mana sitting on the couch with her back to him. "Mana," he says, making his way in front of her. She is sitting with her legs crossed on the couch. Her head repeatedly drops forward but she quickly lifts it to keep from dozing off. "What are you still doing up? It's late."

"I can't sleep," she says with a tired look in her eyes.

"But you can barely keep your eyes open."

"No, I mean I _can't_ sleep."

"What?"

"If I do then…" Her head drops again and she lifts her head, trying to keep her eyes as wide as possible.

"I don't understand."

"I've been noticing something Prince," she says, lifting her heavy eyes to look at him. "Every time I go to sleep, those weird dreams come."

"You mean…"

Mana nods. "And they always show something bad. That's why…that's why I refuse to go to sleep. So just go back upstairs alright? I'll be okay."

"But Mana…"

"Go." Atem looks down at her, not knowing what to do. There is really nothing he can do for she has made her decision final. Reluctantly, he walks away, heading back upstairs. 'If she hadn't come here, she wouldn't be going through this right now. Maybe it is best if she goes back.'

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Joey hangs up his cell phone in frustration. He and Mana are walking alone today to school. "Darn it. What the heck is the matter with her?" he asks out loud. Mana looks at him lazily with her head tilted back.

"Still having issues with Mai?" she asks.

"First she yells at me for no apparent reason and now she won't even answer her phone!"

"Is having a serious relationship with some one else hard?"

"Yes, especially when that other person can be stubborn," he replies. "Anyway, what's going on with you?"

"Huh?"

"You look so tired? Couldn't sleep?"

"Sort of," Mana replies before trying to give a reassuring smile. "But I'll be fine. Promise."

"If you say so."

All during the day, Mana struggles to keep her eyes open. She has been doing quite well and all she will have to do now is get past the last period. Her eyes are slightly red and bags are forming under her eyes. The teacher's boring lecture doesn't help at all either. Slowly she rests her head on the desk and her eyes open and close repeatedly before finally closing.

_The man with blue hair and different colored eyes stands in front of her with one hand on his hip. "You again," Mana says. He disappears all of a sudden and she is transported to another area. She gasps at what she sees. Two people are dueling against each other using the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. _

_"Wait a second…that's…"_

_"You see Mana," the man says, appearing again. "Your best friend will turn on you. So why not join me instead?"_

_Mana clenches her head, taking some steps back. "I refuse to believe this will actually happen! It can't be true!"_

_"Oh, but it is Mana and it will happen."_

Mana gasps and her head shoots up from her desk, panting and she wipes the sweat off her face. The whole class is gone for the day. She sighs and holds her head. "Not again…" she says to herself.

"It's about time you woke up," Joey says, getting up from his desk and picking up his text book. "For a moment there, I thought you were having a nightmare."

"…yeah."

"Well let's get going. We have a whole weekend ahead of us."

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"Have you heard about all the commotion that's been going on?" Yugi asks Mana as they head up for the night. "People have been going unconscious and into deep comas."

"Wow, really?" Mana asks, slightly interested. She rubs her eyes as he continues.

"Yeah. The others and I think it's an evil seal called the Seal of Orichalcos causing all this to happen."

"The Seal of…Orichalcos?"

Yugi nods his head. "Last time we encountered it, it was used to take people's souls and strengthen the power of a beast." Mana's eyes widen with shock. That is exactly what the man in her dream talked to her about.

"Is it bad?"

"Without a doubt. Take it from me," Yugi replies, remembering what happened to him back then. He had gotten his own soul taken away by the reach the top of the stairs and Mana stops at the top, breathing heavily. Not getting a lot of sleep has taken a lot out of her physically and mentally. "Hey are you okay Mana? You don't look so good."

The same questions have been questioned to her and she has always replied the same. This time would be no different. "I'm fi--" Her legs give out from beneath her and she stumbles back before falling straight down the stairs, hitting the floor below.

"Mana!" Yugi yells and he runs downstairs to her aid. Her eyes flutter open and she grimaces from the pain in her back.

"Ow…ouch…" she mutters with her eyes dimmed down. 'I…can't move…' Her eyes start to get heavier and her eyes slowly begin to close. 'No…I have to stay…awake…' Even when she tells herself that in her head, it is no use and she finally surrenders.

_Mana sits up and looks at her surroundings. She turns her head to the right to see what appears to be a clear opening to the beach. Atem, Yugi, Joey and Tea run on the sand with their bathing suits on, about to jump into the water. She stands up and watches as they start to splash water on each and play around. "You guys, wait for me!" she yells and she runs toward the beach, only to be blocked by a glass wall and she falls back down on the ground._

_Mana sits up, rubbing her nose and she continues to look as they have fun without her. "It's like…they've forgotten all about me…"_

_"That is correct," says the man and she stands up across from him. "They've forgotten all about you Mana. It's like you don't exist anymore."_

_"No! They would never forget about me! Especially Prince!" The man turns to where the group is playing and smirks. Mana looks as well and looks with horror as Atem hugs Tea and plants a kiss on her forehead. She runs to the glass wall, banging her fists on it._

_"Prince! Prince!"_

_The man chuckles and Mana turns her head to him. "He hasn't even told you his real name after all this time. Oh that's right, you're not his friend."_

_"You're wrong. We're best friends!"_

_"Doesn't seem that way by the looks of it," he says and he begins to laugh loudly while Mana drops to her knees and closes her eyes, trying to escape the sound of his laughter but it doesn't work. _

_"No! Stop it!" she yells but he continues to laugh. "NO!"_

"NOOOO!" she yells and she shoots up in bed. Pearls of sweat are on her forehead. Her door opens and Yugi and Atem run in to see if she is alright. Atem sits at the edge of her bed facing her.

"Mana, what's wrong? What happened?" he asks her. She replies by hugging him and beginning to cry. "Mana…" He glances over at Yugi who is just as clueless as he is. But apparently what she dreamt just now, greatly bothered her for some reason.

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"I see getting her to join my side will be more difficult than I thought. But I'll soon change that…"

_So yeah, that's the end of chapter 6. More chappies to come! Please review._


	7. Danger

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Mana wakes up the next morning feeling partially refreshed yet a little bothered by the dream. At least she got some sleep though. She sits up and shields her eyes from the sun that beams in through her window. Doing a couple a neck rolls, she finally gets out of bed, getting dressed in her blue pleated uniform skirt and her white blouse. Then she heads downstairs, only to see that no one is there.

"There you are," comes a voice from behind and there stands Yugi's grandpa. It took her awhile to not address him by Priest Shimon, since he has a striking resemblance to him.

"Uh…hi. Where are the others?" she asks.

"They went to school. They decided not to wake you up since you weren't feeling well," he replies and he turns to go into the kitchen. Mana, not knowing what else to do, follows him. He starts to cut up some fruit and place it into a blender.

Mana goes up to the tall glass containing the fruit and examines it. "What is it?"

"That, Mana, is a blender," he replies, putting more fruit into it.

"A blender?"

"You make smoothies with it," he explains and she continues to look at him with a confused look. "They're cold drinks." He puts some liquid into the blender then goes off looking for the lid. As he is looking away, Mana creeps up to the strange object and looks at the different buttons. "Where did I put that lid?"

"Watcha need a lid for?" she asks as her finger hovers over the buttons.

"Well I can't start it without a lid. If I did then it would--" Mana presses the button, causing it to turn on and all the contents inside to splatter all over the place. Grandpa ducks while she crawls and scrambles behind the counter. He slowly makes his way to the blender and turns it off and both stand up. Their face and clothes are a total mess. "And that Mana, is exactly why we need a lid before starting it up."

"Sorry."

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"What is going on here!?" a teen with short brown hair and blue eyes yells in his office. He is the owner of a gaming company and rich at that. He slams his fist on his desk as he looks at his computer. A small boy with long black hair enters his office, wondering what all the commotion is about.

"What's wrong Seto?" he asks his older brother, approaching him.

"Someone's buying chunks of my company!"

"Not again."

The phone rings and Seto Kaiba picks it up. "What is it?"

"We have someone on the other line that wants to speak with you. He says it's very important."

"Put him through," he orders. Momentarily on his computer screen, a rich man by the name of Pegasus appears. "You."

"Hello Kaiba boy. Long time no see."

"You've got some nerve calling me…Allister."

"Oh, so you've figured it out," he says, taking the mask off his face, revealing his real identity which is a guy with short red hair.

"I've been taking note of what has been happening lately. The monsters coming to life, people blaming my company, and here you go again," Kaiba says. "I have no time for your little games. What do you want now?"

"I just want a little rematch."

"I thought we settled this little family dispute of yours already."

"Oh but it's not that. I only want to duel for your soul."

"You've got to be out of your mind. Don't you remember the last time we dueled? You didn't stand a chance."

"So you refuse?" Allister asks with a smirk.

"Yes. I have much more important things to do then play with a mediocre duelist like you."

"Suit yourself then," he says and the computer shuts off. Mokuba looks at his older brother with concern.

"What do you think he meant by that Seto? You think he's up to something?" he asks.

"He's bluffing. He would be dumb to cross me again."

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Atem sits at his desk near the window with one leg crossed over the other and his chin resting on his hand as he looks outside. Since his class is having a free period, it will give him time to think. He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath before releasing it. Then he opens his eyes once again to look out the window.

'She's been through so much since she got here and I see something different in her each day.' He sighs and places a hand on his forehead. 'What am I going to do with her?'

"Hey Atem, what's up?" asks Yugi, sitting in the desk in front of him and turning his chair to face him.

"…Nothing, just thinking that's all."

"About?"

"Mana," he replies, still looking outside. "She hasn't been herself ever since we arrived here. It got worse when she started having these dreams."

"What kind of dreams?"

"She doesn't tell me a lot except for the fact that they're bad and realistic. But she never tells me exactly what happens in them."

"Well they must be terrible especially after the way she screamed last night. I've never seen her look so scared."

"Yes. And we're not as close as we used to be," he remarks under his breath.

"Say what?" Yugi asks, not quite hearing what he just said.

"It's nothing Yugi."

Yugi raises an eyebrow. "Are you and Mana--?"

"Hey guys," Tea says, walking up to them both. "There are more cases of people being found in a coma-like state in the street or in their houses."

"This really is serious. Just what is Dartz up to anyway?" Yugi asks.  
"Probably the same as last time," Atem answers. "And we need to put a stop to it."

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Mokuba walks inside his brother's office that night, rubbing his sleepy eyes. He cracks the door open to see him still working at his desk. "Seto, it's late. Don't you think--"

"I'll be fine Mokuba," he interrupts. "I need to keep working."

Mokuba frowns, but he knows that he cannot stop his brother from what he is doing. "Fine. I'm gonna lock up." He closes the door and turns around to lock up for the day. That is probably the easiest job he has. All he has to do is swipe his card and all the doors will lock automatically. He goes up to the fall where he must swipe the card and does so.

When he is about to head back to his brother's office, he hears something from behind him, causing him to stop. He turns around and looks around cautiously. "Who's there?" he asks out loud. There is no one.

Kaiba closes his laptop and gets up from his desk. Although he would hate to admit it, his little brother is right and he must get his rest. Suddenly, he hears Mokuba's cry for help and he dashes out of his office to the sound of his screams. "Mokuba!" he calls out. He turns a corner and looks in horror as he sees his little brother lying on the ground.

"Mokuba!" He goes to his knees and picks him up his arms, shaking him lightly. "Mokuba, wake up!" He doesn't respond. His body is cold and feels lifeless in his arms.

"MOKUBA!!"

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"Ah Yugi, you're back," says his grandfather as he, Atem, Tea and Joey walk inside. His friends decided to come by for a little while.

"Hi grandpa," Yugi greets. "I hope you don't mind the others being here."

Grandpa chuckles. "Of course not. Stay as long as you like. And you got something in the mail today," he says, handing him a white box.  
"Me?" he asks, taking the box. He sets it down and opens it to find a black tape and he pulls it out for the others to see. Joey looks at the box to see who it is from and his eyes widen with horror.

"NOT AGAIN!" he yells, scrambling behind a couch, taking cover.

"What's up with you Joey?" Tea asks.

"Pegasus sent Yugi another tape! I wouldn't put it on if I were you!"

"I think we should hear what he has to say," says Atem with his arms folded across his chest. Yugi nods and puts the tape into the VCR while Joey trembles in the background. The tape comes on, showing Pegasus on the screen with sort of a relaxed look on his face.

"Greetings little Yugi. It's been so long," he says, crossing one leg over the other. "I have some very important news to tell you so listen up."

Meanwhile, Mana sits on her bed with her legs crossed and she looks at her spell book with her wand sitting on the side of her. Just because she is here doesn't mean she can stop studying now. Besides, she has nothing else to do so she decides to study her spells anyway.

"Hm…there are so many spells that I still don't know yet…" She groans and rakes a hand through her brown, spiky hair. Hearing a creak, her eyes slowly lift from her book and her gaze goes to the partially opened closet door. "I'm pretty sure I closed that door all the way," she says to herself and she gets up from bed. Her wand materializes in her hand as she approaches it with caution.

"You see little Yugi," says Pegasus, continuing on. "There is not much time left. Soon this world will once again be in great danger and it is up to you to stop it. I'm afraid it is too late for me."

"No way," Tea says. "His soul's already been taken."

"You must hurry. It's all in your hands. And I advise you to keep your friends close. They could be in danger as we speak." The tape turns off and everyone exchanges looks at each other.

"What did he mean by that last statement?" Joey asks.

"GAAAAH!" Mana's scream fills the air and they look toward the stairway with alarm.

"Mana's in trouble!" Yugi exclaims.

Mana jumps back from the swipe of the large Orichalcos monster. It has red glaring eyes, sharp claws, an armor-like body and a duel disk attached to its wrist. She ducks out of the way from another swipe and narrows her eyes, staying in a crouched position with her wand in her hand. Her wand glows and activates, sending the monster crashing through a window.

She sighs in relief, thinking that it's over when it suddenly appears again, taking a high jump and landing on her bed. Mana stands up straight and holds her wand protectively in front of her. 'It'll be even tougher to beat with all that hard armor,' she thinks to herself.

Loud knocks come from her door and she hears her name being called from the other side. "Mana, open up!" Joey yells, banging on her door. They hear another pain filled scream come from the other side, making them even more worried.

"Mana!" Atem exclaims.

"That's it, we're busting in!" Joey yells.

Mana gets sent flying into a wall and she lands on the floor from a powerful blow to her side. She holds her side, slowly beginning to stand up again. 'This has gone on long enough.'

A large explosion is heard from the other side. It is so strong that the door is blown off its hinges. Mana backs up to the wall, leaning on it, starting to breathe heavily. The others rush inside to find Mana's room a complete mess. It's like a war went on in there. The monster lies on the floor, defeated.

"Mana, are you alright?" Tea asks, going to her side.

"Hey Atem…that thing looks kind of familiar doesn't it?" asks Joey, pointing to the monster.

"Yes. I once faced off against it a while back. But what could it want with--" Mana screams as she starts to get dragged down below. A puddle of darkness forms at her feet as it pulls her down. "MANA!" He runs over and tries to pull her out but it is no use. The others go behind Atem to try to help him pull. Soon Mana is down with only her shoulders and head above ground.

"Don't let me go!" she pleads as Atem tightens his grip on her hand. But no matter how much he tries, he still cannot pull her out and she disappears below the ground.

"Oh no!" Tea yells.

"She's gone!" exclaims Joey with disbelief. Atem slowly drops down to his hands and knees and bangs his fist on the floor.

'I couldn't save her…'

_Phew…pretty long chapter. Just what does Dartz want with Mana? You'll soon find out. Please review though… _


	8. Stay Strong

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

The next morning is anything but cheerful. Actually, the whole house is quiet. How can it be filled with fun and laughter when one of their friends has been captured? That's how Atem is feeling at this moment. He leans on the wall with one arm hiding his face. He is alone in the bedroom because he had asked to be alone. 'I couldn't save her. Now Mana's gone.'

Tea stands outside the room and knocks on the door. All she wants to do is cheer Atem up. He couldn't stay depressed forever. The door opens and Tea jumps in surprise to see that he is wearing no shirt, just pants. He doesn't seem ashamed though.

"What is it?" he asks.

"Uh…" The whole no shirt thing caught her off guard and now she forgot what she is going to say.

"Well?"

"A-Are you alright?"

"No," he replies plainly and she quickly thinks of something else to say so that he won't close his door.

"Do you want to talk about it? Maybe it'll make you feel better." Atem sighs. He isn't in the mood to talk right now. But he knows that Tea is only wants to help him out. He steps outside of his room and leans on the wall and she waits for him to say what is on his mind.

He takes a deep breath first, trying to get his thoughts together, before exhaling. "I should've listened to you Tea and now it's too late. She shouldn't have come in the first place. This is all my fault."

"Don't be so hard on yourself Atem. You tried your best."

"But my best wasn't good enough!" he raises his voice slightly and she can hear how upset he is. This is just like the time when Yugi lost his soul. Atem was devastated. He kept blaming himself like is right now. But Joey knocked some sense into him. Maybe that's what he needs. "I couldn't save her," he continues.

"Stop it Atem."

"It's my fault that she gone." Sick of hearing him beat himself up, she slaps him on the cheek and he looks away with shock. He didn't expect that at all especially from someone like Tea. He slowly turns his head back to her to see her wiping away some tears.

"Just stop Atem. I can't stand the sight of you beating yourself up and moping around like this."

"Tea…"

"You have to stop this now. How do you expect to save Mana when you're like this? She's counting on you and you can't let her down."

"You're…right," Atem says. He has never seen this side of Tea before. But this talk has helped him greatly. He knows now that he can't walk down with his head low because Mana is gone. He has to pull himself together so that he can save her. "Thank you Tea."

She nods, wiping away her remaining tears. "What are friends for?"

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Bruised wrists, aching head and most of all, a tired body. Mana's eyes flutter open and she looks from left to right, taking in her surroundings. It's the same place as her dreams. The cave is dark, filled with dragon statues, lit candles and what appear to be stone slabs containing people on them. She tries to move her arms, but she is chained to a wall.

She sighs and bows her head. Ever since she came to this time, a lot of bad things have been happening to her lately. First she almost got hit by a car, started having these weird dreams and now she's been gobbled up by some black stuff that has sent her where she is right now.

"It's about time you woke up." She looks around for the person who just said that. Then she looks straight ahead to see a figure coming out of the shadows. To her dismay, it is the man with the long blue hair.

"Just who are you anyway?" Mana asks with narrowed eyes.

"Well I guess I could tell you because after this, you will not have a mind of your own."

"What?"

"My name is Dartz."

"Wait a minute. What did you mean by your last statement?" Mana asks.

"You see Mana, you're apart of my plan for capturing the pharaoh's soul," he explains, walking up to her. "I need his and all the other strong souls out there to strengthen my Leviathan."

"But earlier you told me that this was all for good. Taking people's souls doesn't sound so good to me. And what makes you think I'll help you Dartz?"

Dartz chuckles and places a hand on his hip. "I knew that you wouldn't want to go against your friend." He takes out an Orichalcos stone laced with string out of his pocket and raises it up for her to see. "But this will change that and soon, you'll be under my control!"

"No…I'll never help you."

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice," he says as the stone starts to light up.

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Yugi opens the front door after hearing someone knock on it. An older teen with sort of a gothic look stands at the doorway and Yugi's eyes widen with surprise on seeing the familiar face. "Duke Devlin?"

"Yo," he greets with a wave. He had first met Yugi playing a game called "Dungeon Dice Monsters." First they were enemies, but they quickly became friends afterward.

"What are you doing here?" asks Yugi, stepping aside so that he can come in.

"I was just stopping by. Anyway, have you heard of all the commotion that has been going on lately?"

"Yeah. It's getting out of control."

"Have you ever thought of going to Professor Hawkins and asking him for help?"

"That's a great idea," Yugi says before bowing his head slightly. "But how exactly are we gonna get there?"

"We could all hop in my car. No big deal," Duke answers and Yugi smiles.

"Thanks Duke."

"No prob."

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Joey, Tea, Yugi and Atem all ride in Duke's light green convertible down a deserted road. They have been driving for hours now because Professor Hawkins lives far away from the city. Joey sits in the front next to Duke as he drives while the others sit in the back.

Duke looks at Atem through his rear view mirror. "Well I have to say that I was pretty surprised to see you here pharaoh. Weren't you sent back to the afterlife?"

"He was," replies Yugi for Atem who doesn't seem in the mood for answering questions right now. His mind is on saving his friend. "He was brought back here by Mana."

"Mana? Who's that?"

"Mana's a friend of his. We think she got kidnapped by Dartz," says Yugi lowering his eyes. "So now we need to find a way to get her back."

"Mana eh?" Duke raises an eyebrow with a smirk across his lips and Joey dims his eyes, knowing what Duke is thinking right now. "Is she cute?"

"Back off man," Joey warns. "She's taken."

"What? By you?" Joey motions his head back to Atem and Duke's eyes widen. The last thing he wants to do is anger Atem especially in the mood he's in. "U-Uh, not that I would take her from you man."

"Focus Duke," Tea says with a slightly annoyed look on her face. Atem lifts his eyes and turns his head, hearing a couple of motor sounds coming from behind him. There are four motorcycles in the front while there are another group of motorcycles riding behind them.

"Great," Atem says and everyone except Duke turns to see what all the commotion is about. A couple of motorcycles speed up and start to surround the car, causing Duke to put his foot on the brake.

Joey grits his teeth and growls. "It's these punks again." The four head bikes stop in front of the car and they all take out their helmets except for two that are riding on the back of two motorcycles.

"No way," Tea says with shock once she gets a look of the four bikers. "Don't they look familiar you guys?"

"They are," Joey replies with his eyes narrowed at them.

"That's Allister, Valon and…Rafael," Yugi says, just as surprised as everyone else is. There is also another man that looks slightly familiar. He looks a lot older than the rest of them and he has short brown hair with a beard and he wears glasses in the shape of circles. He is actually the first person from the Orichalcos that Atem dueled last time.

"Prepare yourselves for a duel," says the older man with glasses, preparing his duel disk.

"Why are you guys doing this?" Tea asks. "Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"Yeah, you're on the wrong side," Duke says

"It doesn't look like they're listening," Yugi says and he gets out his duel disk from his book bag and puts it on his wrist. Then he hops out the car to face the man.

"Yugi what are you doing?" Atem asks, in fear for his friend's safety. "It's too dangerous."

"There is no choice," Yugi says, turning his head to him. "If we don't beat him and the others, there's no way we'll be able to save the world." He turns back to face the man with a determined look on his face. Tea has never seen Yugi act like this before. She thought he always needed Atem's help to duel, but she can see now that she is wrong.

"Be careful Yugi," Tea says.

"Before we begin, let me first explain the new rules to this duel," says the man.

"What? New rules?"

"In this duel and for the remainder of any duel, you will only be able to use one monster. You will no longer have life points, but a life bar." Yugi looks down at his duel disk and instead of numbers being there, it is a long white life bar. Atem narrows his eyes. This is similar to back in Egypt where they would have health bars to determine how much health they have left. "When that bar is gone, the seal will take you soul."

Yugi pulls out his deck and looks at the cards that he has. 'Only one monster. I have to choose wisely.'

_Chapter 8 is done. I shall have the next chapter up as soon as I can. Please review._


	9. Unexpected Help

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Note: Very important chapter. Pay close attention.

"LET'S DUEL!"

Immediately after saying that, the light green seal descends upon them and surrounds them. No one is allowed in or out of the seal.

Yugi and the middle aged man from the side of the Orichalcos stand across from each other, about to duel. But this duel isn't like any other duels. This time, it comes with a new set of rules. Only one monster can be used and they now have a health bar instead of life points.

"I summon my Silent Swordsman level 5!" Yugi exclaims, placing the card down on his duel disk. The swordsman appears wearing blue armor and wielding a large sword, holding it up in defense.

"And I summon…LUMINOUS SOLDIER!" A large creature wearing metal with spikes coming out appears after he lies his card down on his dark colored duel disks. It also has a sword but it has many sharp ends on the side.

"So what now?" Yugi asks.

"I'll show you. Luminous soldier, attack his Silent Swordsman!" His monster charges at Yugi's and swipes it, causing blood to gush out of his arm. Yugi suddenly cries out in pain, holding his arm and he grimaces.

"Yugi! Are you alright!?" Atem asks out loud.

"That dirty little geezer," Joey remarks, clenching his fist. The health bar on Yugi's duel disk goes down slightly.

'So I'm affected with each hit my monster takes and my health bar goes down as well,' Yugi figures out in his head. He stands tall and smirks. "Now that I've got this all figured out, it's my turn," he says before getting serious. "Silent Swordsman, strike him down!" The swordsman goes at the man's monster, preparing to strike.

"Dodge it Luminous Soldier, then counter with a move of your own!" Luminous soldier moves out the way as the Silent Swordsman goes past him, then it strikes from behind.

Yugi gasps for air and slouches over slightly. His health bar goes down again, this time it is at half. 'I think I'm starting to slowly catch on to this game. It reminds me of an anime I used to watch. You call your monster's every move. It won't attack or defend unless you tell it to.'

"Give up?" asks the man. "You've already lost half of your health. A couple more strong attacks and you'll be finished!"

"Come on Yugi! You can do it!" Tea cheers him on from the sidelines.

"Stay strong Yug," encourages Joey.

"Silent Swordsman, run toward his monster." The swordsman obeys, holding up its sword preparing to attack it. The man grins at this move.

'Hasn't he learned his lesson?'

As the swordsman is about to make contact, Yugi commands, "Now jump!"

"What the-!?"

"And attack from behind!" The Luminous soldier, being caught off guard by that move, stands there helplessly and groans as it gets hit.

"GAH!" the man yells, clenching his chest and his health bar goes down.

"Attack again while he's open!" The swordsman attacks him again, this time in the shoulder which effects the man as well. His health bar is now less than half from those powerful attacks.

"Nice work," Atem comments.

"It's time I end this," says the man grimacing. "Luminous Soldier, give one hard stomp on the ground!" The large soldier lifts up its heavy foot and stomps onto the ground, causing it to shake and the Silent Swordsman loses its balance. "Attack full force, now!"

The Soldier's sword pierces right through the swordsman's chest. Yugi cries out in pain, dropping to the ground and panting heavily. His health bar is now near the end from such a critical attack.

"YUGI!" his friends yell.

'One more attack and he's finished,' Atem thinks to himself.

One of the bikers quickly stands up and looks on through her helmet. Her head goes to the old man then to Yugi who can barely stand. She watches as the man calls his final attack and his friends look on helplessly. Yugi slowly looks up as his opponent's monster is about to attack his.

"Oh no!" yells Tea as tears form in her eyes, fearing that this is the end. But suddenly the unexpected happens. His monster freezes right in its tracks.

"Attack I say!" the man yells but his monster still wouldn't move. Yugi glances over to one of the bikers who has an index finger up to their helmet. His eyes widen with shock, knowing only one person that does that.

"Hurry up and attack Yugi!" Joey yells and Yugi nods.

"Silent Swordsman, attack with all your might!" The swordsman's sword glows bright and it charges toward the helpless soldier. It swipes down with all its strength, causing the soldier's armor to crack open. Then it attacks once again, straight in the chest, causing it to fall to the ground and disappear.

"NOOO!" the man yells as his health falls completely. The seal slowly starts to surround him as the other bikers drive off, leaving him there. A green light shoots up into the sky as his soul is taken then he falls on the ground, lying there motionless. Yugi sighs in relief before collapsing. The others rush to his aid and Atem picks him up in his arms.

"Yugi, are you alright?" he asks. Yugi slowly opens his eyes and looks up at him and the rest of his friends who are looking down at him with worry.

"Yeah…I'm okay."

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The bikers ride through the empty road in a huge group with Valon, Allister and Rafael being in the front. Both and Valon and Rafael have females riding with them.

"I knew that old man wouldn't last long," says Valon.

"Oh well. He knew what he was getting himself into," Rafael says with a shrug.

"But he almost won until someone interfered," Allister points out. Rafael glances back at the female riding behind him before looking forward, keeping his eyes on the road.

"It seems this one still wants to have a mind of her own. Guess we'll have to take her back to Dartz."

"You mean she did it?" asks Valon.

"The boss said that she wasn't an ordinary girl," Allister says.

"Let's go to the boss and report her."

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They continue on their way to Professor Hawkin's. The sun is setting and it is starting to get a lot colder outside. But they still continue on, wanting to see if the professor could help them like he did last time.

"Hey, I have a question," Tea says all of a sudden, breaking the long silence between them. "Why did that other guy's monster stop?"

"I've been wondering the same thing," Joey says thoughtfully. "His monster just froze for no reason."

"Maybe there was a glitch," Duke says.

"That was no glitch Duke," says Yugi with his eyes lowered. "Mana…she saved me."

"What?" Atem asks in disbelief.

"I noticed that when the monster froze, one of the bikers had their index finger up to their helmet. That's the same exact thing that Mana does when she performs her freeze spell," Yugi explains.

"So Mana's alright?" Tea asks.

"She may be alright Tea, but what is she doing on their side?" Atem asks.

"That's a good question," Joey agrees. "You think she might've turned on us?"

"I won't assume anything just yet."

"Hey you guys, we're here," Duke tells them as the pull up to the large trailer that Professor Hawkins is staying in. They all get out and Tea knocks on the metal door. Momentarily, a small girl with blonde hair and green eyes, wearing glasses answers it and immediately rushes over to Yugi who blushes. To Tea's dismay, she has a big crush on Yugi and makes that really obvious. "Yugi you came back to me!" she exclaims with excitement.

"Uh…hi, can you let go now? I can't breathe," he says, beginning to turn blue in the face and she lets go. She still keeps her arm wrapped around him though.

"Where's your gramps?" Joey asks.

"Inside," she replies and they all go in to see him sitting on the couch reading a book. He is an old man yet he is good looking for his age. He wears a white suit with a red tie and nicely polished shoes.

He looks up and smiles at the familiar faces. "Why hello there. It's nice seeing you here."

"Hello Professor," Yugi greets back.

"I was actually expecting you," he says to everyone's surprise. "I realize that Dartz has returned with the Orichalcos and the world is once again in great danger."

"So do you have any ideas how to stop him this time?"

He shakes his head. "Although, do you still have the god cards Yugi?"

"Sure do," Yugi replies.

"They will be of great assistance to you. But it is important that you don't lose them or let them get into the wrong hands."

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In the dark cave stands all of Dartz henchmen. All are surrounding their master and one henchman is further forward than the others. She takes off her helmet revealing her brown spiky hair and aquamarine eyes.

"I have an assignment for you and if you disobey me, you will surely regret it."

"…Y-Yes sir."

_Wow, sorry for a longer than usual update. I'll hopefully have the next one up soon so stay tuned. I can say that the next will be very, very interesting…Please review. (Also the whole dueling method I got from a Pokemon video game). Hehe_


	10. She's Back?

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Atem stands outside all alone, leaning on the mobile trailer. He sinks his hands into his pockets and looks at the half moon in the sky. There are also stars visible because there isn't so much light around where they are. He drops his head with a sigh before slowly lifting it back until it is resting on the trailer and he closes his eyes. 'I sensed something wrong with her from the start.'

_Flashback_

_Atem, Yugi, Joey and Tea all rush out into the beach on their day off of school. It is a nice time to hang out and spend time with friends. Plus it is pretty humid and being at beach will give them an opportunity to cool off. Mana walks behind their trail, wearing a white bathing suit that was bought for her by Tea._

_As her friends swim at the deep end of the beach, she stands there, looking out into the sparkling water. There is a nice breeze blowing through her hair and she closes her eyes, starting to enjoy it. She begins to think of those dreams of hers, which brings her out of her pleasant mood. She opens her eyes and frowns. 'I want to tell him but…'_

_"Come on Mana!" Joey yells from the water, waving at her. Mana nods and takes one step into the water before pulling back from it being so cold._

_"It's f-fr-freezing!" she exclaims._

_"Come on!" Mana sighs before running into the cool water, joining the others at the deep end. The day goes on with them playing in the water. Joey and the guys start a water fight against Mana and Tea. Since it is three against two, it would seem unfair. They couldn't even get them back or see and Tea groans with frustration. Feeling that they've had enough, Joey, Yugi and Atem finally stop, only to see that Mana has whipped out her wand and a big grin on her face. It glows and she gives it one swipe before a large wave comes toward the guys._

_"Uh oh," they say in unison and the wave crashes down on them, sending them under. Tea laughs while Mana puts her wand away and smiles shyly. Suddenly, Tea gets pulled down under and Mana looks around in alarm, wondering what happened to her. Then she feels herself being pulled down as well and she looks at the person who did that. It is none other than Atem. Mana shakes her head with a smile before swimming off and Atem follows her._

_'She seems so distant,' Atem thinks to himself as he swims along side her. There is no longer that gleam in her eye. She is acting totally different. She usually likes to go for a swim but today, it doesn't look like she's having that much fun at all. She maneuvers herself so that she is swimming on her back and she looks up as the sun beams through. That is soon blocked by Atem who is swimming over her with sort of a concerned look on his face and she shakes her head, knowing why he is looking at her like that._

_Later, they both stand side by side, still at the beach, this time looking at the sunset. Mana leans on the rail in front of her and Atem does the same. Indeed it is beautiful, but Mana finds it hard to admire how it looks. The images from her dream keep popping back in her head. She turns her head, holding it and prepares to walk away until Atem stops her by holding onto her arm and bringing her back to him._

_"You have been acting strange all day. What's wrong?" he asks, gazing into her depressed looking eyes._

_"It's my dreams again," she replies. _

_"What did you dream about?"_

_"It's not that big of a deal."_

_"It must be. Those dreams are really taking a toll on you Mana." He brings her closer to him, his arms tighter around her waist so that she won't try to run away. "Now what was it about?"_

_"They're just terrible dreams about…a lot of things," she replies, telling him only half. They are really just about her and how she's in danger. But she doesn't want to tell him that. She bows her head slightly, feeling a bit guilty that she isn't telling him the whole truth. But there is a reason to why she is doing that. If he knew that she is having such a hard time and if she actually tells him about her dreams, she fears that he will tell her to go back to the afterlife. And she doesn't want to leave him. She feels her head being lifted back up and she is now looking into his amethyst eyes._

_"I feel like I'm losing you," he says and Mana holds him, resting her cheek on his bare shoulder. "I just don't understand why you can't tell me the whole truth."_

_End Flashback_

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Joey goes outside and wipes the sweat off his forehead. He is immediately welcomed by the cool breeze that blows through his hair and clothes. "That's more I like it. It was so hot in there," he says to himself. He looks up to the moon with fascination in his eyes. "Sure is a big moon." He quickly shakes his head. What has gotten into him? With a shrug, he turns to go back inside. He stops in his tracks, hearing the sound of motors. He looks toward the pack of trees that leads into the forest, where the sound is coming from. He narrows his eyes.

'It's probably that biker gang again. Well I'll show them!' he thinks to himself and he runs out toward the noise.

Mana gets off the motorcycle which is in the middle of the forest. Rafael, who was driving the motorcycle, gives her a stern look. She doesn't bother to take off her helmet. "Now go and challenge the pharaoh in a duel," he orders. "Disobey and suffer the consequences." He drives off, leaving her there by herself and she drops her shoulders.

'I can't do it…'

"Who's out there!?" she hears a voice yell from beyond some bushes. She quickly puts up her guard, preparing herself. The figure slowly comes out from behind the bushes and she drops her hands, seeing the familiar face.

'Joey…'

"Who are you? You with the Orichalcos?" he asks, looking at the feminine figure who wears black leather pants and a leather jacket. A green jewel hangs off her neck. She slowly lifts her hands to take off her helmet, freeing her spiky hair and revealing her face to Joey who looks with shock. "…M-Mana!?"

Mana smiles, dropping her helmet to the ground. She rushes over to him and hugs him to his surprise. She has never been so delighted to see him again. Just seeing a familiar face instead of those henchmen makes her happy. "Mana, what are you doing out here?" he asks, pulling back.

"Uh…"

"Well that doesn't matter. The good thing is that you're safe."

"…Yeah."

"Come on. I'll take you to the others."

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Joey and Mana reach the entrance of the trailer and Mana suddenly stops. She is hesitant on going in, knowing why she is supposed to be there in the first place. But she doesn't think she can go on with it. "What are you waiting for? Come on, it's chilly out here," Joey says.

"I don't think I should go in," says Mana, looking hesitant. "I think something bad is gonna happen."

Joey grabs her arm with a confident look. "Everyone is gonna be so happy when they see that you're alright." He opens the door and takes her inside where everyone is sitting down and communing with each other. "Hey guys, guess who I found?"

"Joey, this is no time for--" she gasps when Mana steps through.

"MANA!" Yugi, Tea and Atem exclaim in surprise.

"H-Hi," she says shyly with a slight wave.

"What's with the get up?" Tea asks, and Mana looks at what she is wearing, examining her arms and legs.

"The important question is where were you?" Atem asks with his arms folded across his chest. Mana sighs and turns her head.

"This guy named Dartz…he kidnapped me and…"

"So Dartz is behind all of this," Joey interrupts. "Wait until I see him. I'll pound him!"

"Hold on Joey," Yugi says. "Where exactly is Dartz now? Do you know Mana?"

"He's--" She is cut off when the necklace around her neck starts to glow, filling the room with a greenish glow. It only lasts for awhile until it finally fades, leaving everyone with a questionable look.

"Uh…what just happened?" Tea asks.

"Oh no…" Mana says suddenly and she turns away. "I shouldn't be here. He probably knows that I'm telling you all this." She starts for the door until Atem grabs her by the wrist.

"What has been going on with you lately?" he asks.

"Please, I don't want to hurt you."

"What do you mean?"

"I was sent here in the first place to duel you for your soul."  
"What?"

"What's the matter with you Mana?" Joey asks, standing beside Atem. "You're not thinking straight." He looks down at the necklace. "Maybe it has something to do with this." He reaches for it and electricity emits from it, sending Atem and Joey flying then they crash into a wall.

"Atem! Joey!" Tea yells.

"Are you guys alright!?" asks Yugi as they lay there unconscious. Mana clenches her hair and cries out from the intense pain that she is feeling right now. It feels like her whole body is about to shut down on her as the electricity continues to surround her.

'You dare disobey me?' she hears in her head and she suddenly disappears. Yugi and Tea look with shock then at each other.

"Yugi, what do you think happened to her?"

"I don't know. But it can't be good."

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"I've had it with your stubbornness!" Dartz booms as Mana is once again chained to a wall with no way of being free. He outstretches his hand, and then balls it into a fist, causing her necklace to glow again. Her eyes turn from its normal aquamarine color to a lifeless green looking color. "You now totally belong to me. And this time, you will do as I say!"

_Well all I have to say is please review! It would be quite appreciated!_


	11. Atem vs Mana

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

**Note: I don't know if I've mentioned this in a previous chapter but the reason why Rafael and everyone else has turned evil again is because after Dartz went back to the Orichalcos, he recruited his old group back to help him capture more souls. (It's in chapter 3 I believe).**

**Hm…This chapter should be quite interesting…I hope… **

Kaiba stares down at Allister in disgust after he has beaten him in a duel. He bends down and takes something out of his pocket. It appears to be some sort of computer chip. He takes a mini computer out of his pocket and puts the chip in. His eyes widen then he looks down at Allister.

"He should've known better than to face me again. What an idiot." He looks back at the computer screen. "Knowing them, those dweebs are probably out there trying to solve this problem. They'll probably want this."

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The trailer is awakened abruptly by a large explosion. Everyone's head shoots up from their positions to look out the window. What they see doesn't come too much of a shock to them though. Large fiends from the Orichalcos surround their location. They are the same fiends that fought Atem a while back in a duel. Also out there is Rafael, standing with his arms folded and shades on his eyes.

"Oh great," Duke says sarcastically.

"Not those things again," Tea groans.

"Good thing I brought my duel disk," Joey says, pulling it out of his bag. Rebecca walks up to Atem, carrying her duel disk and hands it to him, sort of reluctantly, looking away.

"You'll probably need it more than I do," she says. "So take it."

"Thank you Rebecca," Atem says, taking it and putting it on his wrist. Yugi gives him his most precious card. It is Atem's favorite card, the Dark Magician. "Let's go."

Atem, Joey and Yugi all go outside to face the monsters and Rafael while Duke and Tea go as well, just for support. All three of them place their monsters on their duel disks. Joey has the Flame Swordsman; Yugi has the Silent Swordsman and Atem, the Dark Magician. With all three of their monsters, the fiends are all defeated with ease, leaving Rafael defenseless.

"It's over man. You're outnumbered," Joey says.

"I didn't come here to fight you," he says. "But she did."

"What?" Yugi asks.

"You guys! Look!" Tea says, pointing to the top of the trailer where Mana is sitting with one leg over the other with her head bowed, her bangs hiding her face. She is wearing a dark colored pleated skirt and a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She also wears black combat boots that go up to her knees. On her wrist is a dark looking duel disk.

"Mana!" Atem exclaims, whipping around and looking up at her. Her head slowly lifts, revealing her glowing green eyes and a grin on her face. Atem looks with shock. This isn't the same Mana he remembers. "Mana, what happened to you?"

"She's not who you think she is," says Rafael and Atem turns back around. "She's with the Orichalcos now and there's nothing you can do about it."

"You jerk, what did you do to her?" Joey asks.

"It's her own fault. Had she listen to Dartz in the first place, she wouldn't be under his complete control. Now she only does what he says," Rafael explains.

"But how did she meet up with Dartz anyway?" Tea asks.

"You know those dreams she frequently complained about? They were given to her by Dartz to try to get her to join him."

"You won't get away with this," Atem growls and Rafael smirks.

"If you want your revenge, you'll have to go through her first," he says, pointing at her.

Mana jumps down from the top of the trailer and lands on the ground. It almost feels as if a bomb has crashed to the ground. She slowly rises, keeping her green, devious eyes on Atem.

"M-Mana."

She approaches him and cups a hand on her cheek with a smirk across her lips as he trembles with anger. "What's wrong? You look surprised," she says. She drops her hand to her side and walks ahead.

"Mana!"

"Follow me to the place where we will duel."

"I refuse to duel you!"

"If you wish to save your friend, then you will duel."

'She's under Dartz control. If I duel her and win, then she will lose her soul in the process. But if I lose, how will the world be saved?'

Mana turns her head to him. "You have no choice."

'She's right. I have no choice.'

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They stand on a high up cliff above rushing water. Atem stands across from Mana with his duel disk ready and Mana looks out, as if enjoying the scenery. Joey, Yugi, Tea and Duke all watch helplessly, knowing that they can do nothing to stop this duel. Mana walks toward the edge and Atem looks at her cautiously. Even though Dartz is the one controlling her, it is still her body.

"Very nice wouldn't you agree pharaoh…I mean…Atem," she says, turning her head to him as she says his name. "I picked this place for a reason but you'll soon see why."

She readies her duel disk and stands across from him. "Snap out of it Mana. You're being controlled!"

"Enough of this. Let's duel." The seal comes from out of the dark clouds and descends around them. It also appears on the middle of her forehead and a dark aura surrounds her. "I'll start first and I bet you know what I already chose as my monster," she says, placing her card down gracefully on the duel disk. The Dark Magician Girl appears, an evil look in her eyes and the seal on her forehead as well.

"Mana, don't do this!" pleads Atem.

"Quit yelling senseless babble and choose your monster."

Atem narrows his eyes and reluctantly places the Dark Magician on his duel disk. It seems that nothing will break her out of Dartz' strong control. But he has to keep trying. "Just you wait Mana. I will set you free."

"I've heard enough out of you. Dark Magician Girl, Dark Burning Attack!" The female magician aims its wand at the Dark Magician and a ball of energy shoots toward it.

"Dodge Dark Magician!" commands Atem and Dark Magician quickly levitates out of the air. But even doing that, Dark Magician Girl keeps going at him for attacks. But Dark Magician avoids them all.

Mana grunts in frustration. "Are you just gonna run away or are you gonna duel me?"

"I refuse to hurt you Mana."

"You really are slow. The Mana you knew is gone. And if you're just gonna keep doing nothing, then I will keep attacking until your health is completely gone."

"And I will stop at nothing to get Mana back to her normal self."

Mana shrugs her shoulders with a smirk. "Suit yourself."

Yugi, Joey, Tea and Duke all watch as Mana sends her Dark Magician Girl to attack Atem's Dark Magician. Soon, Atem couldn't dodge any longer and he starts to get attacked, causing his health to go down.

"This isn't good you guys," says Tea.

"You're right Tea," Joey agrees. "She's got him right where she wants him and he's doing nothing about it. What is he doing?"

"Joey don't you remember our duel when you were brainwashed?" asks Yugi.

"Of course. How could I forget?"

"Well…this duel is pretty similar to that duel. And I know how Atem is feeling right now because I've been in his current position. You know that your friend is being controlled by an evil force and you must stop that evil. But even knowing that, you still don't want to duel because that person standing in front of you is still your friend," Yugi explains as he watches Atem get attacked countless times and his health getting even lower.

Atem can now barely stand. He clutches his chest and breathes heavily, feeling his health leaving him. He can see that Mana is getting more and more frustrated by what he is doing.

"ATTACK ME!" she yells. "WHY AREN'T YOU ATTACKING ME!?"

"Because we're friends. And I will never hurt a friend," he replies weakly.

"You're a fool!"

"Listen to me Mana! You have to break free from his control!" Mana's eyes widen for a moment before she shuts them, clutching her head. "You're being brainwashed!"

"He's right Mana!" Yugi yells.

"Come on Mana! Snap out of it! Remember your friends!" Tea shouts.

"Friends…" Mana says to herself.

_NO! I'm starting to lose her! I won't lose this duel!_

The necklace hanging around her neck starts to glow and she slowly raises her head, a dark aura surrounding her. "I have no friends!"

"Mana! Break free!" Atem exclaims, starting to slowly walk over to her side. "Dartz is controlling your mind!"

_Don't listen to him! He's lying!_

"Shut up!" Mana yells. "Because you left yourself wide open, I will attack again!"

"Don't do it Mana…" Dark Magician Girl sends out a couple of blasts of energy and they all surround the weakened Dark Magician. Then all of a sudden, they all collide into him at the same time. Atem cries out in pain and drops to his knees.

Mana gasps and she begins to tremble. 'Prince…' His health goes down to where the is only a bit left.

_Quiet! You will obey me! Now give him the final attack so that you can win this duel!_

'Prince…'

_This isn't working! Darn girl! I guess I have no choice!_

Mana narrows her eyes as Atem slowly makes his way over to her. "Why do insist on not attacking me? Because of that, you're gonna lose and your soul will be taken."

"Do you…really want to know why?" Atem asks, finally reaching her. "You're more than a friend to me…"

"Stop it," Mana says, turning her head away but Atem brings it back so that he is looking her directly in the eyes.

"I love you Mana."

"No…"

"I love you Mana," he says again.

"You're lying! You're my enemy!"

"Look at me Mana!" he raises his voice, cupping both of her cheeks. "Do these eyes lie?! Have I ever done anything to hurt you?! Don't you see!? I could never hurt you because you mean the world to me!"

"No…no…" Mana starts to sob, falling into his arms and hitting him lightly on the chest. Atem kneels down, still holding her in his arms as she cries while everyone looks on from outside the seal which still surrounds them. "What have I done?"

"Shh…It's alright…" But by the way Mana's necklace glows, it doesn't seem that way. Slowly, they both stand up as the ground beneath starts to shake and the seal around starts to glow as strong as her necklace.

"What's going on?" asks Duke. To their horror, the ground below Atem and Mana suddenly shatters like a glass and they both go down into the rushing water below.

"Atem! Mana!" Yugi shouts.

"Oh no!" Tea exclaims.

Mana surfaces from the water and looks around frantically for Atem as the seal disappears from her forehead. She catches him from the corner of her eye, about to sink underneath. She quickly swims against the strong currents to reach him and she grabs hold of him, bringing him up. He is passed out, still weak from the duel. The current continues to carry them until Mana can see no more water ahead of her and her eyes widen. Ahead of them is a waterfall.

"They're heading for the falls!" yells Duke.

Mana pulls Atem closer to her and she closes her eyes, bracing herself as they go over the falls.

_(sigh) I'm not very good at romance but I hope it wasn't too sappy. (sweatdrops) _

_Anyway, please review!_


	12. Just Call me Atem

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Tea sobs in the background while Yugi, Joey and Duke try to process in their heads on what just happened. They couldn't believe what they had just seen. Right in front of their eyes, Atem and Mana had gone down the waterfall.

"Tell me this didn't happen. Tell me it's all a dream," Joey says with disbelief.

"IT HAPPENED!" Tea yells with tears in her eyes. "They went over the falls!"

"Tea…" Yugi says.

"I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Calm down Tea," says Duke.

"How can I calm down after what I just saw!?"

Yugi looks toward the rushing water then at the falls. How could anyone survive a fall like that? He shakes his head and mentally slaps himself. They had to be alright.

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Mana drags herself out of the water, dragging Atem with her. She drops on her stomach, panting and trying to regain her strength. Her hair and clothes are completely soaked and she is starting to feel cold. She lifts her head slightly to see a cave up ahead. Only a couple of more steps and they'll be safe in side.

Using the last bit of her strength, she puts Atem's arm over her shoulder and her arm around his waist before walking on until she reaches the inside. Then she places Atem down and he groans as his back hits the ground. Mana hovers over him to check his injuries. She has injuries as well but he is in worse shape than her. He just got pulverized in a duel and almost lost at that. They are lucky that they even survived the fall.

"Augh! Mana!" Atem yells as Mana touches one of his many wounds on his stomach, arms and legs.

"Sorry," she apologizes before a cloth materializes in her hand. She takes off his jacket and shirt and presses the cloth on the wound on his stomach.

Atem groans and moves his head to the side. "Can't you use one of your spells to heal me?"

"No. That involves me giving you some of my energy and I can't do that."

Atem lifts his head slightly to look at her and asks, "Why?"

"Uh…Because with my low health, I'll probably pass out and die," she replies with sort of a blank look on her face. Atem chuckles lightly at the expression he knows so well and leans back while Mana looks at him questionably. "What's so funny?"

"I'm glad that I have the old you back."

"I'm sorry I've caused you so much trouble."

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell me about those dreams of yours. We could have prevented this from happening."

"Because…I was afraid that if I told you…you'd want me to go back to the afterlife."

Atem slowly sits up. "Mana I--" He is cut off by a boom of thunder and their heads turn to the entrance of the cave where rain is pouring outside and the strong wind is causing the trees to blow with it.

"Guess we're not going anywhere any time soon," Mana says.

"Yes, it looks that way," Atem agrees and he and she both look as it continues to pour outside. Mana gives out a long sigh and she clenches her hair with frustration. "What is it?"

"It's weird but I can't remember much about the duel we just had," she replies, folding her arms.

"You can't?" Atem asks and she shakes her head. He groans inwardly. If she couldn't remember the duel then she probably wouldn't remember what he confessed to her. "Nothing at all?"

"Well…" Mana starts, tapping her finger on her chin. "I do remember you directly in front of me saying something and…"

"And?"

"Hm…" She continues to think back, trying to remember the duel between them. Then she smiles all of a sudden and Atem looks at her, hoping that she remembers that certain thing he said to her. "You looked like you were gonna cry prince!" she blurts out with a chuckle.

"I was not," he mutters before turning serious. "So that's it?"

"What? Was there something I missed?"

"It's…nothing," Atem replies, turning his head and looking away with disappointment. 'I thought for sure that she would remember. But I guess I was wrong.'

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Mana stands just at the entrance of the cave. She can feel light, cool rain dropping onto her skin. She leans on the side of the cave with her arms folded as she gazes outside. Behind her, Atem is resting with his back against the wall and his head slightly bowed. She knows she should be doing the same thing since she was also injured in the fall, but not as bad as Atem. Still, she should be saving her strength for after it stops raining, they will have to make their journey back to their friends and that will take a while. The waterfall had carried them a long way off from them.

She takes off the necklace from around her neck that contains the strange stone. She holds in her hand and stares at for awhile. For moment there, she is put into alarm because it starts to glow. But the light slowly fades and the stone cracks into pieces. She smiles and slowly turns over her hand so that the remains fall on the ground, only to be swept away by the strong wind. 'It doesn't look like he'll be controlling me for now on,' she thinks to herself before looking up at the sky.

_Flashback_

_Atem slowly makes his way over to Mana during their duel against each other. Mana only watches, not knowing what else to do as the weak form approaches her. He grabs her by the shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes. "You're more than a friend to me…I love you Mana…"_

_End Flashback_

Mana smiles to herself before looking back at Atem who is still sleeping. At the time he said that, she wanted to reply, but Dartz had control over her mind. She holds out her hand as if she was about too accept something and her gold necklace with a ruby in the middle appears. She puts it snug around her neck and places her hand on it.

'I already knew how you felt before you said what you said at our duel prince. You made it so obvious.'

_Flashback_

_Back in Egypt, Atem creeps through the halls late at night, trying to avoid the guards. In his hand he carries a piece of jewelry that he had gotten from a shop outside the palace. He had disguised himself so no one would recognize him as pharaoh when he was out there. The jewelry was for his friend's birthday._

_He slowly opens the door to another person's room and the person lies on her bed on her back with her head to one side. He carefully places the necklace on top of her where her neck is. Fastening it though would probably wake her up so he doesn't bother. _

_For awhile, he watches her sleep, examining her facial features. She looks so peaceful and relaxed when she asleep and most importantly to him, very beautiful. He snaps out of his thoughts and before he leaves, he leans down and plants a kiss on her forehead, whispering a couple of words to her._

_Mana groans and sits up as her door closes and she could see a blue cape right before it closes completely. 'Prince.' She looks down and on her lap is the necklace he gave her and she picks it up._

_End Flashback_

Mana smirks inwardly and chuckles lightly. 'He thought I didn't hear him the first time he confessed. But I heard everything.' Then she slowly lowers her eyes and breaths out. 'But when we go back to the afterlife, the priests wouldn't approve of this. So what do I do?'

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Atem breaths a sigh of relief as his health is replenished by Mana. The sun is finally out and now they'll be able to make their way back to the others. She stands up briefly with her wand in her hand before her legs give out under her and she starts toward the ground. Atem quickly holds her up by her shoulders and she wraps her arms around his neck to help keep herself up.

"Heh…did I leave enough health for myself?" Mana asks herself with a smile.

"Will you be alright?" Atem asks, looking down at her.

"Of course…I…" She slowly begins to get lost in his eyes and she begins to lose her thought. For awhile they just stand like that, gazing into each other's eyes. They could've stayed like that forever. Mana suddenly blinks and looks around before her eyes land on Atem again. "Uh…Prince?"

"…Sorry," he apologizes and he lets her go. They start out of the cave and he glances over her way before looking forward. She always refers to him as 'Prince,' even when they're not back in the afterlife. Everyone here calls him by his real name and so he decides that she will be no different. "Mana."

"Yup?"

"I want you to call me Atem for now on."

_So obviously this was sort of a 'fluffy' chapter of Atem and Mana. The next chapter will have some action. Please review!_


	13. A Great Loss

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Dartz stands inside his cave in front of a huge sphere. Behind him are two of his minions, waiting for his command. The sphere contains souls, swimming around and bumping against the unbreakable glass, trying to break free.

'Soon, I shall feed Leviathan this. But I still need at least one more strong soul to make him even powerful.' He turns to the two and raises an eyebrow. One is missing.

"Where is Valon?" Dartz asks. Rafael's eyes slowly scroll over to the feminine figure who takes off the helmet on her head. Her spiky blonde hair falls to her shoulders and back and her violet eyes gaze fearlessly at Dartz. "Well?"

"He was getting in the way. So I disposed of him," she replies. 'He thought he could get a rematch with Joey. But Joey's mine.' Dartz stares at the woman for a moment while Rafael waits to see what his reaction is. He only shrugs and turns around, back to the sphere containing the souls.

Rafael's eyes widen. "You're just gonna let her get away this? She betrayed us!"

"Silence you fool," orders Dartz. "The more souls, the merrier." Rafael looks at him with shock at first, but then again, he expects that answer out of his master.

"I need you two to go out and get me more souls--stronger ones this time. I will be sending out more of my beasts to capture other souls as well. Don't let me down."

"As you wish," Rafael says respectfully.

'I already have one in mind,' thinks the woman with a smirk on her lips.

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"Prince, this is weird," Mana says.

"You obviously needed your rest Mana," Atem says as he carries her on his back with ease. She is much smaller and a little bit shorter than him so it isn't so hard to carry her. Although Mana is really having a good time, she can't help but feel a little funny.

"But Prince, you shouldn't be carrying me."

"Why not?" he asks, looking at her a little puzzled.

"Because…" Before she can even answer, he already knows what she is about to say and he smiles.

"Look Mana, I don't mind carrying you. And besides, you never minded riding on my back when we were children, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"And for the last time, call me by my real name, understand?" Mana nods her head before resting her chin on the top spike of his hair with a sigh. She closes her eyes for moment, just liking the feeling of having rest. It seems that ever since she got here, she's been moving around constantly. It has all been exhausting for her. If she is faced with one more fight, she might just blow. Slowly her eyes open when she feels Atem stop. To her dismay, there are two large Orichalcos monsters standing in front of them.

"Guess it's time for me to get off," Mana sighs and she gets down, standing beside Atem. They both ready their duel disks and place their cards down. The Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl appear side by side in front of their owners. On their word, they both fly and attack the two monsters, but not even one hit will defeat them.

"They're a lot stronger than last time," Atem says. One of them swipes at Dark Magician Girl, but she dodges with ease. Atem takes note of this and smirks. "They may be strong, but they are really slow."

"I see," Mana says and smiles. "Show 'em what you got Dark Magician Girl!" The magician girl points its wand at the monster and blows it back into a tree, causing it to snap.

"You too Dark Magician!" With a fancy twirl of his staff, he blasts the other and it lands beside the other one. Atem and Mana stand with their backs touching and they outstretch their hands.

"DOUBLE DARK MAGIC ATTACK!" they yell at the same time and their magicians both give out a powerful blast. Mana and Atem both turn away with their arms folded as there is an explosion behind them. Their hair and clothes blow because of the great force. Sensing even more coming behind them, Atem narrows his eyes.

"We're not done yet," he says and they turn their heads slightly and watch as more start to approach them.

"Round two."

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Joey sits down and puts on his gym shoes, ready to leave. He is determined to find Atem and Mana no matter what and so were the others who are already standing at the door, waiting for him. Once he is ready, he gets up and joins them at the door.

"Alright, if we follow the path of the waterfall, we should reach them," says Yugi. Joey opens the door and he stops in his tracks when he sees a familiar face standing there. Yugi and Tea look over his shoulder to see who it is and they both gasp.

"Mai? Is that you?" Joey asks. It is his close friend. Others would say that they are a couple because of their close relationship, but Joey always denies that. "What are you doing here Mai?"

"I came here to duel," she replies to his shock.

'No, not this again,' he thinks to himself. The last time the Orichalcos came, he had to duel her and it was very hard and painful for him. He looks into her eyes. They are cold and show no signs of light. He then looks down at the necklace that resembles the one Mana had. Could she be possibly under Dartz' control?

"Well? Why are you just staring at me? You should be preparing for our duel and you _will_ lose Joseph. I promise you that."

"Snap out of it Mai!" yells Tea in the background.

"Stay out of this!" Mai snaps before turning her attention back on Joey. She prepares her duel disk and pulls out a card. Joey reluctantly does the same. Her necklace glows and the Seal of Orichalcos descends onto the ground. "I summon my Harpie Lady!"

'I was afraid she might summon that,' Joey thinks before placing his card down. "Flame Swordsman, come on out!"

'What am I doing? I shouldn't be preparing to duel her! She's my friend and I don't wanna hurt her. But she's threatening to steal my soul…I'm so confused!'

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The last of the Orichalcos monsters is finally beaten and the two magicians disappear. Mana gives out a long sigh before looking at Atem with a grin on her face.

"Thirty-two," she says confidently.

"Forty-eight," he replies and her mouth drops before she folds her arms with a pout. Since there were so many, they had turned it into a game to make it a little fun and Atem ended up winning to Mana's dismay. They turn around to the rock wall on the side of the waterfall.

"If we go up that wall, then that'll lead us one step closer to the others," says Atem and he walks forward. Mana drops to her knees and whines. Atem turns around and sighs. "Mana, there's no time for this."

"All of those monsters wore me out. Now I'm even more tired than before," she complains. Atem looks ahead and he gasps.

"I think you might want to get up."

"Why?"

"Behind you." She slowly turns her head and her eyes widen with horror, seeing more monsters coming at them. With a shriek, she scrambles to her feet, grabs Atem by his collar and with all her strength, she drags him up the hill as the monsters come even closer. She throws him to the top and he lands with a dazed look. He shakes his head, snapping out of it and crawls on his knees to the edge to see Mana hanging on the edge with the monsters trying to get up as well. But because they are too heavy, they couldn't manage to pull themselves up.

"PICK ME UP! PICK ME UP!" Mana says in a panic and he pulls her up by the back of her shirt to safety. Both lie on the ground, panting heavily before their eyes land on each other and they start to laugh uncontrollably.

"Me picking you up and throwing you over like that came out of nowhere," Mana laughs.

"Your face expression was funny," Atem laughs and they both sit up. "We don't have to worry about those goons again."

"Yeah," Mana chuckles, getting the last of her laughs out of her system before she sits up along with Atem. She looks up to see a rainbow pattern going across the sky. "Look at that…"

Atem looks up as well and grits his teeth. 'We're running out of time.' Out of nowhere, a burst of green light shoots up into the air not too far from them and their heads whip over to that direction.

"I know that light," Mana says. "Isn't that coming from by the trailer?"

"Let's go!" They run over to that direction, going through the woods containing many trees and bushes. Soon, the trailer comes into their sight and they see the backs of Yugi, Tea and Duke.

"Guys!" Mana calls out to them but they do not budge and they continue over to them to see what is going on. Mana is the first to reach them and first her eyes go to them, then to the lifeless body on the ground. She covers her mouth and takes a couple of steps back.

Atem narrows his eyes before looking at the others. "Who did this?"

"Mai," Tea replies.

_Flashback_

_Joey drops to his knees, holding his arm while his Swordsman is also on one knee. The others look with shock as Mai prepares for her final attack. Joey gazes up at Mai with disbelief._

_"Please Mai…don't…" he pleads weakly.  
"I told you I would win," she says with an emotionless look in her eyes. "Harpie Lady, attack!" After the final attack is inflicted on the Flame Swordsman, Joey's health bar is now completely gone and the seal automatically surrounds him. He drops to his face as he feels his life source being taken away. _

_"JOEY!" Yugi yells with tears in his eyes._

_"NO!" screams Tea. Mai smirks before walking away and getting on her motorcycle. "How could you Mai! To your own friend!" Mai turns her head to Tea, that pale expression on her face._

_"I have no friends." And with that, she rides away, leaving them there to mourn Joey's loss._

_End Flashback_

"I-I knew her," Mana says trembling and she drops to her knees. "It's not her fault."

"What do you mean it's not her fault!?" Tea yells. "She did that intentionally!"

"No…She was being controlled by Dartz…just like me…and the others."

"You mean those other bikers are all being controlled?" Duke asks and Mana only nods her head.

"What do we do?" asks Tea.

"There's nothing you can do," answers a male voice and they turn to see Rafael standing there. "You'll have to get through me to face Dartz."

"Fine," Atem says standing in front of him.

"No, what are you doing?" Mana asks.

"If we want to defeat Dartz, we'll have to beat him first." Mana looks up at Atem, her mouth slightly open. For some reason, she thinks this is a bad idea. It's just a feeling that she has in her gut.

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Another soul drops into the large, clear sphere and Dartz grins. "I now have the soul of the great Joey Wheeler," he says.

"All thanks to me," Mai says from behind him and he turns around.

"Very good my slave. You have served me well." Mai only smirks and Dartz suddenly outstretches his hand to her. "But now I have no use of you. So be gone!" Mai's body slowly drops to the ground as her soul is taken from her body and it enters inside the sphere.

"Rafael is now dueling against the pharaoh. If I have his soul, Leviathan will be unstoppable!"

_Wow my fingers hurt. I think this is a long enough chapter. Please review!_


	14. Why

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

_Flashback_

_Many citizens of Atlantis walk around peacefully on their streets, carrying on their daily tasks. People on the street sell jewelry and fruit in order to make a living. On a hill sits the palace of the king. Dartz looks down upon his kingdom with a smile, loving the sense of peace and prosperity. He feels a light tug on his robe and he looks down to see his daughter Chris, who has brown hair in braids rolled up to the sides and she wears a royal gown. In the back, the former king and his father, Iron Heart, gazes proudly at his son who has taken the role as king._

_Dartz looks up to the sky to see a green light falling toward the ground. He isn't the only one looking though. The rest of the city is looking as well and they panic when it lands, making the ground beneath them shake. In fear of the safety of his family and people, Dartz hurries out toward the source, despite Iron Heart trying to call him back. When he reaches the place where the light fell, he is shocked to see the familiar stone of the Orichalcos. He had overcome it once before but now it has returned._

_A small piece of the green stone lies on the ground and he picks it up, gazing into it. One of his eyes, which was originally a gold looking color, soon turns into the same color of the stone and he gasps. _

_'No! Not this again!' A light overcomes him and he clenches his head as he feels something else taking over his mind and body._

_Iron Heart and Chris soon reach him. "Dartz, what's wrong?" asks Iron Heart. His son turns around with a familiar look on his face. It is the look of evil._

_"Daddy, snap out of it," Chris pleads._

_"Snap out of what dear child? I feel just fine," says Dartz. Iron Heart steps forward with his eyes narrowed at the huge Orichalcos stone behind Dartz._

_"It must be destroyed now! The Orichalcos is controlling you!"_

_"Quiet old man." The stone in his hand glows and his father suddenly vanishes._

_"Grandpa!? What have you done to him dad!?" Chris asks with tears in her eyes._

_Dartz approaches her with a smirks and she gasps silently in fear. "The same thing that I'm about to do to you!"_

_End Flashback_

Dartz looks to the stone which is on the alter then at the sphere containing the souls.

"Not too long now…"

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"Come on Atem! Beat that guy's sorry behind!" cheers Duke as Atem duels Rafael. It is Atem's Dark Magician against Rafael's Guardian Iatos who looks like an angel wielding a sword. Currently, Atem is in the league with Rafael's health down to almost half.

"Go Atem!" Tea cheers before looking over at Mana who has been silent ever since the duel has started although she does look like she is into what's going on. "Hey what's wrong? You haven't cheered Atem on not once." Mana doesn't reply making Tea raise an eyebrow in question.

'Does Atem know that Rafael's monster has a special ability? I've seen him do this before. He always waits until his health is low and then…' Mana eyes widen with horror and she looks at Atem. 'Atem…he can't lose, he just can't.'

'What's up with Mana?' Tea asks herself. She has never seen such a serious look in Mana's eyes before. She usually has a carefree look on her face but now, she is like a totally different person.

'Why Rafael? Why are you doing this? You're not a bad person. You were just another victim to Dartz and the Orichalcos.'

"Dark Magic Attack!" Atem yells to his Dark Magician for probably the fifth time and once again his magician attacks Rafael's weakened monster. Something puzzles Atem though. 'Why isn't he attacking me? He hasn't made a move this whole duel. Maybe he wants to lose?' Atem mentally shakes his head. 'No. He's up to something.'

"What's going on you guys?" Tea asks. "It's like he's not even trying."

"You're right Tea. Maybe this is apart of his plan." Mana looks to Yugi then back to the duel. She feels the need to tell Atem something. Maybe it will save him from losing this duel. In fact, she knows that she has to. She just couldn't stand the thought of losing him.

"Atem! There's something you need to know!" Mana shouts all of a sudden, causing Atem to turn his head to her.

"What is it?" he asks.

"You gotta stop attacking him!"

"What are you talking about Mana?" Yugi asks.

"Having Atem attack him continuously is all apart of his plan. He wants Atem to attack because--"

"Chill out Mana," Duke interrupts. "Atem's a smart guy. He'll figure this out." Mana bites her nail as Atem continues to duel. She flinches with every attack Atem makes and watches as Rafael's health goes lower and lower.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you actually going to attack me for a change?" Atem asks. Rafael's health is nearly gone and he can barely stand on his feet but he still manages to grin at Atem, making Atem raise an eyebrow. "Just what are you up to?"

"You fell right into my trap," says Rafael and his guardian raises up its sword and it starts to glow. Dark Magician is suddenly unable to move, making it open for anything.

"What's going on?" Atem asks.

"You'll soon find out," Rafael replies and he does for he feels his health escaping him all of a sudden and his health bar goes down almost to the end while Rafael's goes up.

Atem slouches over, clutching his chest and breathing heavily with pearls of sweat on his forehead. "W-What…have you…done?"

"It's part of my monster's special ability."

Yugi's head whips over to Mana who watches with horror. "Is this what you were trying to warn him about Mana?" She slowly nods her head, not making any eye contact with him. An aura appears around the guardian and the magician and a stream of life force from the Dark Magician enters into the guardian's body.

"What now?" asks Atem who can barely stand.

"My monster's other special ability. With my Guardian Iatos' sword, it can suck the energy off my opponent's monster, making it stronger."

"No!" exclaims Tea. "If he's telling the truth then…"

'This is the same thing he pulled off last time, only he used the power of all my duel monsters that were sent to the graveyard,' thinks Yugi. 'He's doing the same thing all over again!'

"Say goodbye to your monster and…your soul!" Mana's life seems to shatter as Atem's Dark Magician is attacked and his health is gone completely. The Orichalcos surrounds him and a green light shoots into the air. Yugi's eyes is filled with tears. It's the same as last time only Atem loses his soul this time. Tea runs over to Atem's lifeless body, lifting him up into her arms as she cries uncontrollably. Duke stands there speechless, not believing his eyes.

"Atem please! Wake up!" Tea pleads, tears streaming down her cheeks. Mana runs up to Rafael who is walking away, having completed his task. She goes in front of him, blocking his path.

"Stand aside," he says.

"But why!? Why Rafael!?" Rafael only looks down at her with an emotionless look in his eyes. "You're good on the inside. You can break free from Dartz' control just like I did!"

He lightly pushes her out the way, heading to his motorcycle. "You were lucky to get out of that duel of yours with your soul. If you stand in my way again, I'll make sure you lose it this time." And with that, he puts on his helmet and zooms off somewhere. Mana shoulders begin to tremble and tears start falling from her eyes to the ground.

'No…Atem…Not you too…'

_Flashbacks_

_The two close friends stand at the park, doing their favorite thing which is watching the sun go down. They are both lying on the ground side by side, relaxing on the grass. At first it is silent between them, until Atem opens his mouth to speak._

_"You know you mean a lot to me Mana," he says all of a sudden, causing Mana to look over at him with a sort of a confused look on her face. That was pretty random. He continues to look up into the sky. "I don't know what I would do without you."_

_"Prince? Uh…Prince?" He still looks up with a serious expression on his face while she tries to catch his attention by waving her hand in front of his face. She blinks twice. "Eh…?"_

_Mana sighs as she looks outside the glass door of the school where it is raining. She is pretty certain that the others have gone home by now, probably trying to avoid the rain. Sooner or later, she will have to go home too, so she opens the door and steps out into the rain, already feeling cold and wet. But all of a sudden, the rain stops pouring on her and she looks up to see that there is a green umbrella over her head and the person holding it is Atem. _

_"Do you wish to share?" he asks and she nods slowly. She blushes slightly as he wraps his arm around hers to keep warm. "I can't have you walking out here in the rain without an umbrella."_

_"You're always looking out for me," says Mana with her head slightly low. "Am I a burden?" _

_"Of course not," he replies. "Besides you should be used to it by now. I'll always be there to help or protect you no matter what."_

_"I've only been there to help once in the past and you've helped me ever since I came here to this time." She suddenly looks up at him with a look of determination. "One day, you're gonna be the one depending on me for help."_

_"Oh really?" he asks with a smile._

_"Yup. I'm gonna help you out with something so big, it'll make up for all the other times you've helped me." _

_Mana is immediately hushed when she wakes up one morning. Yugi is standing over her and he motions for her to get up and quietly follow him to the hallway. Against the wall are two pails containing water and Mana gets where Yugi is going with this ,so she picks one of them up and he as well before going to where Atem is sleeping._

_Atem sleeps on a mattress on the floor only wearing pajama pants. Yugi pulls the covers off of him and using his fingers, he counts to three before giving Mana the signal to dump all the water on him. For the first time in their lives, they hear Atem give out a loud shriek._

_His eyes are filled with alarm then he turns to glare at Yugi and Mana who have big grins on their faces. He picks up a pillow and runs after them with it, getting a strong swipe on Yugi first then he hits Mana. Yugi and Mana grab pillows as well and soon it becomes a free for all pillow fight between the three, all laughing the whole time. _

_They chase each other down the hallway, feathers flying all over. Atem hits Yugi, causing him to fall back down the stairs, but not before he grabs Atem and brings him down with him; Atem does the same to Mana. They tumble down the stairs, landing beside each other with Atem in the middle with his eyes closed and his head turned to Mana. Mana's face is the same way and their lips are inches apart._

_Yugi's grandpa stands at the top of the stairs and gasps, seeing them all knocked out cold and he calls the hospital, not knowing what else to do._

_End Flashbacks_

Mana's hands rises to her cheeks then slide up to clench her hair. Her breaths become short to the point where they turn into gasps. Her heart beats faster with every passing second. 'Atem…' Her eyes widen when surprisingly, visions run through her head. She shuts her eyes for a couple of seconds before opening them. 'How am I having visions and while I'm awake? Do I still have this power?'

As they all mourn the loss of another friend, a helicopter suddenly descends to the middle of the field, causing them to stop what they are doing. The black helicopter has two huge letters which are 'KC' and Yugi already knows who it is.

He stands up as Kaiba hops out off his helicopter and approaches him. He looks around to see everyone in a down mood before looking to Yugi. "What happened here?" he asks, slightly interested.

"We've lost two friends to the Orichalcos," replies Yugi. Kaiba looks to Atem who lies in Tea's arms.

"So _he's_ back. Looks like he should've stayed where he belonged."

"What are you doing here Kaiba?"

"I know where Dartz' exact location is and by the looks of it, you guys have a bone to pick with him and so do I."

Yugi's eyes widen. That's when he notices that his little brother is nowhere in sight. "Did Mokuba lose his soul too?"

"Are you coming with me or not?"

"Yeah," replies Yugi as Mana walks up to him. "Mana, maybe you should stay here with Atem and Joey until Tea, Duke and I come back."

"No I'm going too and so are Atem and Joey."

"What? But Mana, they're--"  
"They're gonna help us out too."

"What?"

"You probably won't believe me when I say this, but I'm starting to see my visions again. I don't know how, but I think a remainder of that power was left with me," Mana explains to him. "They showed me that Atem and Joey will be a great help."

"But how?"

_Maybe Mana's hallucinating or something but how can Atem and Joey help in their current state? You'll find out later… Please review!_

_P.S: For those who are worried on how this story will end, all I have to say is…well…don't worry!_


	15. Too Late

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takashi.

The Kaiba Corp. helicopter takes off and heads to where Dartz is staying. Kaiba hands Roland, one of the pilots, a map on where they should be going. By the looks of it, it is the same location as last time which is in the middle of an ocean. Tea sits in between Yugi and Mana and Duke sits by Joey and Atem who are out because the Orichalcos took their souls.

The helicopter is surprisingly not the best of the helicopters that Kaiba owns. It is slightly rusty and some the screws look loose. But Kaiba sits there, not looking worried at all. Tea turns her head to Mana. "So why did we bring Joey and Atem with us Mana? What can they possibly do?"

"They're going to help us," Mana replies simply and Tea grows slightly frustrated over Mana's small answers; she wants details.

"But exactly _how_ are they gonna help us?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Well why not?" Tea asks, jumping to her feet, standing in front of Mana who continues to look forward with a concentrated expression.

"I just can't."

"Tea maybe you should calm down for a bit," Duke suggests. "Maybe Mana has a good reason for not telling us."

"No I get it," Tea says, causing Mana to look at her for the first time.

"Get what?" Mana asks, puzzled.

"You think that you're invisible with those visions don't you? Just because they only come to you doesn't mean that you have to hide what you see from all of us! Maybe you telling us what's going on can actually be of some help!" Mana's attention is suddenly directed to the main door of the copter. She can see the screws wiggling out of place and the door shaking lightly.

"Uh…Tea? I think you should hang on to something."

"Why?" The door suddenly swings open and the air rushes out. Hair goes flying as well as papers and Duke tries his best to keep Atem and Joey down. They suddenly hear a scream and their heads whip over in time to see Tea go flying out the door.

"TEA!!" screams Yugi and he attempts to stand, only for Mana to stop him.

"I've got her," she assures him and she slowly makes her way to the door, holding onto to a strap hanging from the ceiling as she does so. Her wand materializes in her hand and she points it to Tea who is still continuing to fall toward the water below. Her wand activates and Tea stops in midair before floating back up to the helicopter. Mana pulls her in before using her magic to shut the door shut.

Tea holds her chest breathing heavily. She thought it was the end for her for sure. She looks to Mana who is also panting from using so much energy. "Thanks Mana." Mana nods.

"Are you alright Tea?" Yugi asks with worry in his eyes.

"Yeah…I'm alright," she assures him.

"We're here," Kaiba says looking forward with his arms crossed as the helicopter approaches Dartz' place. It looks like a palace and it is surrounded by water on every side. Duke looks to the ground and sees a couple of Dartz' monsters standing guard.

"It looks like we'll have to get passed them to get to Dartz," says Duke. Kaiba readies his duel disk and pulls out a card as the helicopter lands.

"This won't take long," he says as he gets out. "Go! Blue Eyes White Dragon!" he yells and a large white dragon appears from the sky and descends down. The monsters continue to stand there in defense, but Kaiba shows no fear at all. In fact, it is the look of confidence. "White Lightning!" he commands and the dragon shoots the attack from its mouth, destroying the monsters with ease. Once the monsters are destroyed, the others come out as well.

"Let's go! We have no time to lose!" Yugi exclaims with determination. They start forward toward the entrance but stop when someone blocks their path.

Mana gasps and her eyes widen with horror. "Rafael…"

"Beat it pal," Duke says. "We didn't come here to duel you. Where's Dartz?"

"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere," says Rafael, coming toward them and he readies his duel disk. Mana steps forward in front of everyone else. 'I have to snap him out of it.' "If it's a duel you want, then duel me."

"Mana, no. Let me duel him," says Yugi and Mana shakes her head. "But why?"

"You need to go ahead with Kaiba and the others to defeat Dartz. I'll be fine by myself."

"You sure about this?" Tea asks her.

"Yeah."

"Be careful."

Mana smiles and looks to Yugi and Tea. "You too. Don't worry; I'll be there as soon as I can. Now go." They all nod before running inside to go face Dartz. Mana gets her duel disk ready and she pulls out her Dark Magician Girl card, looking at it for awhile. 'Hopefully this won't be our last duel partner.' The seal of Orichalcos starts to descend to the ground and surround them on all sides.

"Prepare yourself for your final duel," says Rafael.

'I'm gonna set you free Rafael. Just you wait.'

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Dartz stands in front of the sphere containing the souls. It glows brightly in front of him and he smirks, knowing that now is the time to feed it to the Great Leviathan. He has countless souls plus the strong souls of Joey and Atem.

He chuckles to himself. "My beast will be unstoppable!" He outstretches his hand, causing the sphere to ascend into the air and go inside the mouth of a large dragon statue. As this is happening, Yugi and the others are just making it to the scene.

"Stop right there Dartz!" yells Yugi and he turns to them all, grinning.

"I'm afraid you are all too late."

"What do you mean Dartz?"

"Take a look," replies Dartz, motioning for them to look at the statue of Leviathan which is beginning to crumble and a large roar is heard throughout the whole place.

"Oh no," says Tea with fear and worry in her eyes. "We _are_ too late." The Great Leviathan appears and busts through the ceiling, giving out another large cry that is so loud, they could feel the earth shake beneath them. Dartz' necklace glows and suddenly, he is levitated up into the air and he fuses with his monster to their surprise. His body is like slime as it attaches itself to the head of the beast.

"You don't stand a chance against my beast. It's over!"

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During the middle of their duel, Mana and Rafael look up as the Great Leviathan goes high into the air. The clouds are dark and there are flashes of the thunder and lightning. Mana's eyes fill with horror at the sight. 'He must've gotten as much souls as he needed to revive him. We were too late!'

"It's over," says Rafael and she turns her attention back on him. Her Dark Magician Girl and his Iatos are on the field and both of their health is about even. Rafael's previous duel with Atem had slightly weakened him, maybe giving Mana a chance to win the duel. But Mana's goal isn't to beat him; it is to set him free from the Orichalcos.

"Soon this whole world will be enshrouded in darkness and Master Dartz shall rule."

"Come on Rafael, you know you don't want that stuff to happen," says Mana. "You and I both know that you are good person on the inside."

"Enough with this. Let's contin--"

"No Rafael. Remember back when this all started and there was a big stampede of people? You saved me."

_Flashback_

_A vision comes to Mana and she clenches her hair, trying to make it go away. A person shoves her to the ground, trying to get away and she lies there in a daze. More and more people rush ahead of her and more come her way, about to trample her. As she closes her eyes, ready to be smashed to death, someone grabs her and carries her under arm. She looks up to see a man with blonde hair and a strong build carrying her to safety before passing out from exhaustion._

_End Flashback_

"I know that was you that saved me from getting trampled. Even under Dartz' control, you still managed to break from momentarily to save me." Rafael's eyes widen. That memory of him saving her and other memories starts to flow back into his mind. He starts to think of his life before he was controlled by the Orichalcos again. He was living a peaceful life on the road and helping when needed. Could Mana be possibly right about all this?

"N-No. You're lying."

"Stop trying to resist me! You're a good guy on the inside and you should be helping defeat this evil!"

Suddenly, everything starts to become clear as she shouts those words. His mind feels like it has been unclouded. He blinks before looking at his surroundings. "What the--?" He looks at the familiar seal surrounding him and Mana and his eyes widen. "This again?" He turns his gaze on Mana who is wondering if he has snapped out of it yet.

"Rafael?"

"We shouldn't be doing this," he says, making her sigh in relief.

"Thank goodness. You're back. Now all we have to do is figure out how to get out of this duel so none of us will lose our souls."

"I have a plan…"

_This story is almost over. I think there should be at least 2-3 more chapters left. Please Review!_


	16. Finally Defeated

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Kaiba, Yugi as well as Tea and Duke get blown back by the powerful attack of Dartz' Leviathan. Even the power of both Kaiba and Yugi's monsters isn't powerful enough to beat it. Duke sits up, rubbing his head before looking to Yugi.

"Hey Yug, do you still have the Egyptian god cards?" he asks.

"No. I left them with Atem."  
"But why? Those cards aren't any use to him now."

"Don't you remember what Mana said?" Tea asks Duke. "We have to trust her."

"Are you dweebs through?" Kaiba asks in annoyance, sick of hearing their bickering. "We have our own souls to worry about."

"We have to keep fighting. We need to find its weakness," says Yugi and he pulls out a card that Atem used to have. Not only is it Atem's favorite, but it is Yugi's as well and he feels that it is the perfect time to summon him. He then looks back to the others. "I think I've figured out Mana's plan you guys."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" asks Duke.

"She wants us to distract Dartz long enough so that she can set Atem and Joey's souls free."

"Oh and then Atem will be able to summon the Egyptian god cards and beat Dartz," Tea concludes and Yugi nods.

"Then I'm gonna keep fighting for as long as I can."

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Smoke starts to clear in another area and two figures stand side by side, looking ahead. Mana smiles before turning to Rafael. They both managed to get out of that duel but not without sustaining some injuries. But they would rather have injuries than having their soul being taken.

"Nice plan," Mana compliments.

_Flashback_

_"There's no way both of us can get out of this alive," says Mana, starting to panic a little. The battle between Dartz and the others goes on in the distance as they try to figure out a way to get out of this mess. Rafael looks at his health and at the two monsters on the field. Right now they are both at equal strength and equal health. That's when an idea pops into his head._

_"We're gonna have to attack each other at the same time if we want to get out of this," says Rafael._

_"What?"_

_"The Orichalcos can only take one soul. If we both lose, it will disappear."_

_Mana nods, understanding just what he means before looking to Dark Magician Girl. "You heard that man, now go!" she orders and Rafael's does the same. As soon as the attacks are finished, both of their health bars go down and the seal starts to glow brightly. Mana looks around, wondering what is going to happen next now that it is a tie. "Uh…now what?" And as she finishes that question, an explosion occurs, sending them back opposite directions and they land on the ground with a thud._

_Mana sits up and groans, rubbing the back of her head. "You didn't say that there would be an explosion Rafael…"_

_"The important thing is that we've made it," he says standing up. He drops that necklace that was once around his neck to the ground before crushing it with his boot that he is wearing. _

_End Flashback_

They watch as Leviathan sends numerous attacks and Mana knows that it is probably attacking Yugi and the others. 'Hm…Leviathan is fueled with souls but if he has no souls, then he gets weak.'

"Got any ideas?" asks Rafael and Mana grins.

"As a matter a fact, I do," she replies before pointing to Leviathan. "That sphere containing the souls is probably inside Leviathan, so I'm gonna set them free."

"And how will you do that?" His question is soon answered when Mana whips out her wand and her body is surrounded with light. "Be careful kid." Mana nods before her body levitates into the air and she flies toward Leviathan who is distracted at the moment. She points her wand to a part of Leviathan's body and shoots a magical blast, causing it to rip open. Luckily, the rip isn't so severe that Dartz would catch her going inside.

The inside is slightly dark as she flies through, trying to find the sphere. Just being in that atmosphere makes her feel weakened and so she hurries on. Ahead of her, she sees a bright light. She goes to it to find the sphere, containing the many souls in it. She closes her eyes, beginning to concentrate on the sphere in front of her. 'I need to find Atem and Joey's souls first.' After having her eyes closed for awhile, she finally opens it and two souls in the sphere shine bright. She lifts up her wand and smacks it down, causing the sphere to have a small hole. The two souls are finally freed and they exit out of Leviathan from where Mana came in. 'Good luck,' she wishes in her head before turning back to the sphere. 'Now to free the rest.'

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Yugi gasps for air, clutching his chest as Dark Magician is finally blown away by the great Leviathan. He had tried his best to keep Leviathan busy enough so that Mana could free Atem and Joey's souls. Kaiba's monster is down for the count, therefore he has no help.  
"Yugi! Are you alright!?" Tea asks. She wants to do so much to help her dear friend, but unfortunately, there is nothing she can do. She looks up with horror as Dartz prepares his final attack to finish off Yugi once and for all. "YUGI!" The powerful attack comes toward Yugi and he bows his head, feeling certain that this is the end. That is until the attack gets blocked by another one. Tea and Duke look around for the source then ahead to see the Red Eyes Black Dragon, a card belonging to only one person. Yugi smiles and sighs with relief.

"Joey," he says as he comes in through the entrance.  
Tears fill Tea's eyes and Duke smirks. "It is Joey!" she exclaims.

"Good to have you back man," says Duke. Joey helps Yugi up to his feet and looks at him with a smirk.

"You're…back," says Yugi weakly.

"Don't worry Yug, I got it from here."

"You think you can defeat me!" shouts Dartz. "You are sadly mistaken!" He shoots an attack at the Red Eyes black dragon.

"Inferno fire blast!" commands Joey to the Red Eyes Black dragon and it counters, barely getting rid of Leviathan's attack. 'This thing's strong. I don't know if I can survive the next attack.'

"Look at you. You're monster's weak compared to mine! It's over!" yells Dartz and Leviathan prepares to shoot another attack.

"Not so fast Dartz!" comes a loud booming voice and Yugi and the others recognize the voice clearly. More tears fall from Tea's eyes and she looks toward the entrance to see Atem coming in with his duel disk and three cards in his hands.

"ATEM!" they all yell and he stands protectively in front of them all.

"YOU!" Dartz yells with shock. "How did you get free!?" The thing is neither Atem nor Joey knew how they got back into their bodies. All they know is that they need to defeat Dartz once and for all.

"Prepare to be beaten!" Atem places the three Egyptian god cards on his duel disk and he calls out all three of their names: Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon and The Winged Dragon of Ra. They appear from the sky in the order in which they were called and float across from the great beast.

"NO!"

Mana hits the sphere again with her wand. She couldn't blast it or hit it with any spell because she doesn't want to destroy the souls inside. The whole inside begins to shake and she stops what she is doing. She can sense that Atem and Joey have made it to their bodies and at this moment, Atem is trying to defeat Dartz with the three god cards. Little by little, the souls escape from the small opening, but in order for more to come out and for Leviathan to get weak, she will have to make a bigger opening. "I've got to hurry. Come on!" she yells and she hits the sphere again, causing it to crack.

"Why isn't it working?" asks Duke. "I thought the god cards were strong enough to beat that ugly looking freak."

"The god cards may be powerful," says Dartz. "But I still have the power of everyone's souls. There's no way you can win!" The gods are suddenly attacked, causing a great deal of pain to Atem who doubles over, holding his side.

"I won't give up…"

"I won't give up!" Mana yells, lifting her wand once again, sweat forming all over her face. She hits it and a bigger opening appears, but it is still not enough. "WHY WON'T THIS DARN THING OPEN?" She hits it again and again, more anger filling her body. Her wand glows momentarily as she lifts it up again. "OPEN!" she yells from the top of her lungs and she slams down on the sphere, causing it to shatter and all the souls escape.

From the outside, they can see many tiny lights appearing everywhere. They all look with amazement while Dartz gasps, knowing that means. "NO! My souls! How did this happen!?"

"Now's your chance Atem! Go now!" Joey yells.

"EGYPTIAN GODS, ATTACK WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!"

Mana gets out of Leviathan just in time and she floats in the air. The gods attack Leviathan causing a big explosion and she sighs with relief. But that relief comes too soon for now the body of Leviathan is falling toward her. Because it is so big, there is no way that she can escape it. "Uh oh…" The great beast crashes down into the water and Dartz' body appears in front of the others along with the souls of Kris and Iron Heart.

Nearby is the huge stone of the Orichalcos. It is the same one that crashed onto Atlantis the first time. Iron Heart points his staff at it and soon it is destroyed as well as the necklace hanging from Dartz' neck. He slowly sits up, looking at them all before turning to his father and daughter.

"I'm sorry," Dartz apologizes. "I let the Orichalcos overcome me again and you all suffered for it." He looks at the rest of them. "Can you ever find it in your hearts to forgive me?"

Joey folds his arms. "I don't know," he mutters, causing Tea to punch him in the arm.

"The Orichaclos is now destroyed," says Iron Heart. "It is time for us now to start over again." The ground beneath begins to shake and Atem and other others look around, wondering what is happening.

"What's going on?" Atem asks.

"This kingdom will once again be under water. I suggest you all take your leave," he replies and a portal appears. "Go now; hurry."

"Wait a minute, where's Mana?" Yugi asks all of a sudden. Atem and other others look around for their missing friend, but she is nowhere in sight.

"Mana!" Atem calls for her, but it is no use.

"We have to go you guys or we'll drown," says Duke. Kaiba doesn't hesitate at all and he steps into the portal.

"But what about Mana?" asks Joey.

"She'll find another way out, now let's go!" They all reluctantly go in, hoping that Mana will make it out alright.

The portal takes them back to the trailer and Joey sighs in relief. "Glad we it out of there."

"Yeah, I thought we were goners," Duke says.

"Not so fast you guys," says Tea sadly and she motions over to Atem who has their back turned to them, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

He looks up into the sky and yells her name and it echoes throughout the whole forest.

………_.Please review……..._


	17. Short Reunion

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

AM (ApprenticeMana) : Blah, blah, blah, card games blah.

Cairo: Blah, blah, blah, defense mode blah.

AM: Blah, blah, blah?!

Cairo: Blah…

~LK

AM: That was random.

Cairo: (nods) Indeed…

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_Flashback_

_Mana's eyes widen with horror as the gigantic beast comes her way. "Uh oh…" They finally make contact and the impact is so huge that Mana goes hurdling toward the water below and then she crashes down before Leviathan follows afterward. Rafael, who is witnessing all of this, dashes forward and dives into the water. She can see her slowly sinking away and he swims toward her, grabbing her hand and pulling her out to safety._

_She opens her eyes as he carries her bridal style and he looks down at her, his face stoic. Mana chuckles lightly. "H-Hey there."_

_Iron Heart, who is watching from afar, makes another portal appear in front of them. Mana looks to the portal then to Rafael who hesitates at first, but seeing as the place is going down, he has no choice but to go in._

_End Flashback_

"We're close now," says Rafael, still carrying her because she is weak and exhausted. "You are some kid you know that?" Mana smiles weakly at the remark before grimacing.

"I'm sore all over."

"You did take quite a fall. I don't see how you're still alive."

"My friends tell me…that I'm strong," she says to him and he looks down at her. "Maybe it's that."

"You are strong alright," he agrees, causing her to smile again. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Because of you, I was able to break free from Dartz' control.

Mana raises an eyebrow with a smirk. She has never heard Rafael sound like this. He has a tough exterior but maybe there is a softer side on the interior. "Look at you sounding all sappy," Mana chuckles and Rafael looks forward to see the trailer not too far from them. Mana's eyes start to get heavy and she gives out a long yawn.

"Now you're sleepy?" Rafael says with disbelief. "How can you sleep after what just happened?"

"Eh, it's all in the past now. Earth's saved and now it's time to have some rest and relaxation." When they finally reach the trailer, he sets her on her feet and she looks at him questionably. "What's up? Aren't you coming in too?"

"No, actually I have better things to do."

"I see." He turns away but stops when he hears her calling his name. He turns around, only to be met by a hug and first he widens his eyes in surprise, not expecting that at all, but then he places his hands on his shoulders, looking down at her. "I'm gonna miss you Rafael."

"Yeah. You take care of yourself," he says as they pull back. Mana makes her wand appear and it glows, causing a motorcycle to appear right in front of them. Duke smirks. "Thanks kid."

"No problem." He gets on the bike, giving her a slight wave before zooming off.

Atem, Yugi, Tea, Joey and Duke sit in the trailer in silence. Kaiba had called one of his private jets and had gone off to see if his brother Mokuba has his soul back. In their heads they wonder if Mana made it out alright or if she is even alive. Atem is the most devastated. Just the thought of not having her in his life seems so unbearable. Joey suddenly shoots up from his seat.

"Gah! I can't take this anymore! I'm gonna go look for her!" he yells, heading for the door.

"But how Joey?" asks Tea. "There's no way that--"

"I don't care!" He puts his hand on the handle, swinging the door open. He is about to step down when he sees Mana standing right in front of him with her head cocked to the side and a confused look on her face.

"Joey?" Joey's mouth drops and he becomes speechless, seeing her standing right in front of her. Not being able to get any words out his mouth, he only picks her up in an embrace and steps back so everyone can see her.

"MANA!" Yugi, Atem and Tea yell at the same time. Mana couldn't reply because she is getting dizzy from Joey spinning her around.

"Eh…you're making meeee dizzy," she says and he finally places her down. She stands in one spot with her hands out, trying to keep her balance. "It's nice to…see you too," she says, trying to regain her composure.

"We were all worried about you," says Tea.

"Yeah, especially Atem over here," says Joey, nudging Atem with his elbow and he blushes madly before standing up, starting to approach her.

"Are you alright? Are you harmed?" he asks with concern. Mana smiles before suddenly embracing him. His eyes widen before returning back and he hugs her as well.

"I'm glad it's over," she says.

"I'm proud of you Mana."

"But why?" Mana asks, lifting her head.

"I don't know how you did it, but you managed to set Joey, myself and everyone else's souls free so that we could defeat Dartz."

'Yeah and it nearly killed me,' Mana thinks in her head and she pulls back as Joey lifts one of her arms into the air.

"Did you hear that Mana? You're a hero!" he exclaims and she chuckles. She has become very good friends with Joey ever since she got there and tends to think of him as an older brother. But she has also made good friends with Yugi and Tea as well. Now that this is all said and done, it is time to return back to Domino and of course, school.

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Mana sits in the school yard under a tree after school. Both her knees are bent and her arms rest on her knees while her hands are out in front of her. Her eyes are slightly lowered and part of her face is slightly dark because of the tree giving her shade from the sun. Another shadow suddenly appears overhead and she looks up to see Atem standing there.

"What are you doing here by yourself?" he asks, taking a seat next to her.

"Just thinking."

"About what?" She sighs lightly before turning her head to him, a sad and apologetic look on her face. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asks, bringing her closer to him, his arm around her shoulder.

"What if I told you…we don't have much time left to be here?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry to say this…but our time's nearly up."

"But why? I thought there was no limit."

Mana shakes her head. "You see, we have a thing that I like to call, temporary souls. They only last for a certain time. Atem if we go over that limit, we can't go back to the afterlife and our souls will have to wonder the Earth forever." His hand drops from her shoulders and he bows his head. Just as all the bad things are over with and he finally has time to spend with his friends, it's time to go. "I'm sorry…"

"How long?"

"Tonight." Soon she is met by his cold eyes. He has never looked at her that way before and she can tell that he is really upset that it is almost time to go.

"Why didn't you tell me in the first place?" he asks, his voice starting to rise.

"B-Because, with all that was going on I--"

"You knew this all along didn't you?"

"I--"

"Didn't you!?"

"Atem…" Her eyes start to water up as he continues to look at her with that look in his eyes. He gets up abruptly and walks away, leaving her with a hurt expression on her face. 'I'm sorry…'

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_AM: Wow, what an abrupt ending to a chapter!_

_Cairo: Dad's being mean._

_AM: How could you say that about your own dad?_

_Cairo: She sends him back to see his friends again and then when it's time to go, he gets mad._

_AM: Eh…he's just upset that's all. He just needs some time to cool down._

_Cairo: You're right._

_AM: Please leave reviews! And if you don't know who Cairo is--_

_Cairo: I'm his daughter._

_AM: (stares) Uh…right. Also feel free to check her bio on my userpage! And since when did you start reading this fic anyway Cairo.  
Cairo: Since the beginning. I was reading from a distance…_

_AM: Right… _


	18. Happy Ending

AM: So…tired. Must finish…

Cairo: (looks through reviews) Hey! Someone said hi to me! Hi **Velgamidragon**! Hm…The only story I've read beside this one is "Switch." Such a hilarious story! The others are way too lovey dovey for me. Well…except the ones that I'm involved in.

AM: You're pretty hyper today. Are you through?

Cairo: Yes.

AM: Would you like to say the disclaimer?

Cairo: Oh okay. ApprenticeMana does not own Yugioh!

AM: And thanks to all the reviewers out there that read this story. Thank you!

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Mana sits on her bed in her bedroom which is dark. She looks out the window has the sun starts to go down for the day. Soon their time will be almost up. She does feel kind of bad for not telling Atem in the first place, but there was so much going on that she didn't have time to tell him. With a sigh she lies on her side, still looking out the window.

When she hears a knock on the door, she becomes perfectly still and silent. Could that be Atem? No, he is still mad at her and probably wouldn't want to talk to her right now. The door opens and she keeps silent. She feels weight on her bed and she closes her eyes, pretending to be sleep for moment. That is until the person calls her name and she opens them back up again. She still doesn't respond though.

"I know you're not sleep Mana," says Atem looking down at her. "I would like to talk to you face to face."

Reluctantly, she sits up and turns her head to him. His eyes are serious like they always are yet this time, it is also apologetic. "I'm sorry." Mana continues to look at him as if she wants him to say more. "I lost control of my anger. I shouldn't have yelled at you but--"

"I know. You were just upset that's all. I understand. And I'm sorry for not telling you in the first place. But I didn't want you to feel that you were being rushed because of time."

"So we're leaving tonight?"  
"Yeah. The same way we came here," she says, referring to her wand which got them there in the first place. "Did you tell the others?"

"Yes. They'll all be here to see us off."

Mana leans forward with a sad smile. "Hey, we'll be able to come back, I promise."

"Really?"

"Yeah! I promise," Mana says, giving him thumbs up and he smiles warmly.

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_Cairo, Egypt_

Mana plops down on her bed, lying on her bed with arms out to her sides as she pants heavily with her eyes closed. Ever since they came back, she's been having nothing but punishment because of her and Atem's sudden disappearance. Seto had to take over for him but it wasn't so bad since not a lot of bad things happen in the afterlife. And when Mahad found out that what she did as far as going to the living world, she got into a lot of trouble. For the first time she would rather hear one of Mahad's lectures instead of getting on her hands and knees, cleaning all the floors of the palace. She's not even done either; she's taking a break.

"My arms…my knees," she groans. "I'm so sore I could die…or wait a minute…"

"Mana." She peers down to see Atem coming into the door, wearing his royal attire with a golden crown on his head. He closes the door behind her so that they can be alone and so that they won't be seen together in her room. "I see you're done with punishment."

"Not really. I still have the other half of the palace to do."

"I'm sorry. If it weren't for me you wouldn't have to do all this."

"Hey it's fine," she assures him, standing up in front of him. "I actually had a good time even though I did get possessed while I was there. Plus I saw so many new things and had a great experience." Atem smiles before leaning in and kissing her on the lips and she returns the kiss. They both love each other dearly although the priests probably wouldn't approve of it. That's why they only express their love for each other when they're alone and not in public. Atem pulls back and sighs.

"I wish we could go back. We haven't been there in a long time." Mana taps her finger on her chin with thought before snapping her fingers and making her wand appear in her hand. She holds it out to him with a grin and he gasps. "Mana, you're going to get in trouble again if we go back."

"So. Didn't stop me before did it?"

Atem chuckles, "No, it did not."

Mana shrugs. "Well, you know what to do." Atem nods with a smile and willingly grabs hold of the wand causing the room to light up brightly and they disappear.

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_Domino_

Atem and Mana stand up and look around at the familiar tall buildings. They're clothes are now modern-looking as well. Atem looks forward and his eyes widen in horror to see that they are standing in the middle of a street and a car is about to hit them. "JUMP!" he yells and they both jump at the same time, running on the hood to the trunk before landing on the street. Then they quickly run to the sidewalk to safety.

"Déjà vu," Mana chuckles, putting a hand behind her head while Atem sighs in relief. "To Yugi's!" Mana exclaims, pointing forward.

When they finally reach Yugi's, they see that nothing has really changed. Atem wonders how long they have been gone. They don't keep up with time in the afterlife but it doesn't seem like they have been gone for long. He knocks on the door and hears a familiar feminine voice from the other side before the door opens, revealing an older and mature looking Tea. Her brown has been cut slightly and she no longer wears her high school uniform like she did everyday.

She gasps in surprise, seeing Atem and Mana there. "You're back!" she yells with excitement and she hugs them both. "We've missed you!"

"So have we," says Atem as they all pull back. He looks down as a small girl resembling her walks up to her and tugs on Tea's blue jeans. Tea looks down with a smile and picks her up.

"You guys, this is my daughter, Yufi," she says and Atem and Mana's eyes go big when they hear the word 'daughter.'

"Yufi?" Atem asks, the name sounding similar to Yugi's. "You mean--?"

"Yup. Yugi and I are married."

"How long have we been gone?"

"About five years. I'm glad you guys have finally decided to come back," she says, stepping aside so that they can come in. They see Joey and Mai sitting on the couch and Joey smiles and shoots up from his seat.

"Atem! Mana! Good to see ya!"

"Joey!" Mana yells and she runs up to give him a hug. "You're here! And you've grown!"

"And you haven't aged a bit," he notices and she smiles before looking down at Mai whose stomach is big.

"Is she--?"

"Yup," Joey answers. "Two more months to go."

"She looks just like you Tea," Atem says, holding Yufi in his arms. Yufi grabs hold of one of Atem's bangs and pulls down on it. "Ow. That's painful." Tea chuckles before taking Yufi out of his arms.

"Hey what's all the commotion?" asks Yugi coming in and he stops in his tracks when he sees his buddy Atem and Mana. "No way…"

"Hello Yugi," Atem greets with a smile. "Long time no see. And you've grown so much since the last time I've seen you," Atem says, noticing that Yugi is a little taller, almost as tall as him.

"I can't believe it. You're actually here!" His eyes start to water up but he quickly wipes them, trying to hide his tears.

"I've missed you too Yugi."

"How long are you going to stay this time?" asks Joey.

"I don't know. Mana?" Atem asks, looking at her.

"I shall ask tonight."

"Ask who?"

"The Egyptian gods. They determine whether we can stay here or not."

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Atem and Mana lie in the bed next to each that night. They are in the extra room of the house. None of them were sleep. Atem is looking at the ceiling while Mana has her eyes closed, but she is still awake. Actually she is meditating in her head. Both are waiting for an important answer. She suddenly sighs and he looks over at her.

"Mana." She opens her eyes and looks up to the ceiling. "What happened?"

"A lot of debating."

"What did the gods say to you?"

"They said that what we are doing isn't right. We should be back in the afterlife."

"What did you say?"

"I was basically begging for us to stay and…"

"And?"

"They saw how close we are to our friends here and how happy we are to be here. So, they gave us real souls," she explains and he looks her with his eyes wide.

"You mean--?"

"Yup." Atem is overcome with excitement and he hugs her, planting kisses all over her face and she laughs. "Mana, you have done so many things for me. How can I ever repay you?"

"It's not a big deal," she replies before clenching her fists. "I'm so happy!" she yells and she screams from the top of her lungs, waking up the whole house. Tea and Yugi bust in wondering what is going on.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Yugi asks.

"We can stay," Atem tells them and they are overcome with joy.

"You mean it!?" Tea asks. Mana nods and they all hug each other. No longer did Atem and Mana have to go to the afterlife or live with temporary souls for now they can live with their friends now without having to go back.

And maybe start a family of their own…

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_AM: I must say, ending this was hard. I actually didn't know how to end it so this was what I came up with._

_Cairo: (laughs) My cousin Yufi made a cameo!_

_AM: I hope you enjoyed this story but…_

_Cairo: She's torn between writing two fanfics. Should she write the Yugioh Monsters Alive sequel or "Yugi and Atem's Little Helpers" in which Yufi and I go back in the past to help Atem and Yugi fulfill their destinies._

_AM: Your decision. Sorry for grammatical errors._


End file.
